Late to the Party –California Chamber of Commerce Demands Passage of SB 690
By: Linda Goodman
A bit late to the party, as there will be no further legislation passed this year. On August 12, 2025, the California The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (“Chamber”) sent an open letter to the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee on SB690. SB690 is the legislation passed by the senate which curtails the abusive litigation brought under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”).
Although this bill is now considered a two-year bill, the Chamber’s letter is essentially a PR move for the Chamber who remained very quiet during the process this year but now wants to reiterate the importance of passing this legislation claiming it is urgent that California address this issue as the laws original scope has been contorted to enable frivolous litigation.
Recently, the internet industry has experienced an onslaught of frivolous demand letters and litigation asserting that CIPA applies to internet-based activity. The Assembly originally enacted CIPA to prevent unlawful wiretapping of traditional telephones. Although the Chamber continues to assert that the provisions of CIPA do not and were never intended to apply to the internet, as set forth in their Amicus Brief filed in Guiterez v. Converse (C.D. Cal January 22, 2025), available at: https://www.uschamber.com/assets/documents/U.S.-Chamber-Coalition-Amicus-Brief-Gutierrez-v.-Converse-Inc.-Ninth-Circuit.pdf.
The Chamber emphasizes that SB 690 would provide additional certainty that CIPA does not apply to “a commercial business purpose,” which would enable the legitimate use of tracking technology and resulting data necessary for the modern digital economy to operate.
The Chamber requests language that makes SB 690 retroactive and applicable to any case pending on January 1, 2026, or as of SB 690’s effective date. For decades, businesses relied on the intended purpose of CIPA to prevent traditional telephonic wiretapping, and the State should prevent a rush of additional unreasonable litigation in advance of the passage of SB 690.
And the result…PR set…no action by the Assembly – Get your Cookie Banners Up.
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