Over the past year, there have been a growing number of lawsuits, including class actions, filed against website operators in various states — including California, Florida, Illinois, and Pennsylvania — for violations of state wiretapping laws or the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 (VPPA).
At a high level, these wiretapping lawsuits claim that the website intercepts website user and visitor information via session replay technology and other tracking technology in violation of certain state wiretapping laws. The states in which these lawsuits are occurring are states that require two-party consent to record conversations. Generally, session replay technology is the website’s ability to capture or track a user’s behavior, including what screen is being viewed, the user’s inputs — keyboard and mouse clicks — and other movements around the website. This also includes information provided in chat windows and other free text boxes. Other suits cite violations of VPPA’s prohibition of sharing information about one’s video viewing habits without consent.
To read the full Taft law bulletin, which provides background on state law wiretapping and VPPA claims, as well as some key takeaways, visit here.