Businesses across the country have been receiving similar claims involving website analytics, tracking pixels, and cookie consent configurations. We can review your website’s analytics, tracking scripts, cookie consent configuration, and other privacy related technologies so you and your attorney have a clear understanding of how your website is configured.

For most WordPress websites, a complete review and implementation can be completed in just a few hours. If you’ve received a demand letter, the sooner your website is reviewed, the sooner you’ll know whether any changes are necessary.

Recent Wave of Demand Letters

Many of these claims are based on the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), a law originally passed in 1967 to regulate telephone wiretapping and other forms of electronic surveillance. In recent years, some plaintiffs have argued that portions of the law also apply to modern website technologies such as search bars, analytics platforms, tracking pixels, and session recording tools.

One of the most active individuals behind these claims has been California litigant Vivek Shah, who, along with other “tester” plaintiffs, has filed or threatened legal action against hundreds of businesses.

How These Claims Are Made

Most of these cases begin with a visit to a company’s website. Using standard browser developer tools, the plaintiff enters information into a website’s search bar or interacts with a page while monitoring the network traffic generated in the background. If information is transmitted to third party services before the user has provided consent, they may claim the website violates CIPA.

Some of the most common allegations include:

• Data transmitted before consent. Plaintiffs argue that analytics and marketing tools such as Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, HubSpot, AdRoll, and similar services receive user information before a visitor has agreed to tracking.
• Collection of search queries or user interactions. Some claims focus on information entered into a website’s search bar or other interactive elements, alleging that the data was intercepted or shared with third parties without the user’s knowledge.

Demand letters often request settlements ranging from $5,000 to $50,000, even before formal litigation begins.

Courts Are Beginning to Push Back

Several recent court decisions have narrowed some of these claims. In one significant California Superior Court ruling, the court concluded that CIPA’s pen register provisions apply to traditional telephone communications rather than standard software operating on commercial websites.

Landmark Defense Win: In a major ruling, a California Superior Court judge heavily dialed back these overreaching lawsuits. The court explicitly concluded that CIPA’s pen register and wiretapping provisions apply strictly to traditional telephone communications, not to standard software on commercial websites.

Additionally, if your business does not actively target California residents or maintain physical operations there, California courts highly likely lack jurisdiction over your company in the first place. Consulting your company’s attorney is always the right first step, but these claims are proving incredibly difficult for plaintiffs to sustain in court.

The Technical Issue Worth Addressing

Regardless of how these lawsuits ultimately play out, they have highlighted a real issue that exists on many older websites.

Many websites were built before modern privacy standards became common. As a result, analytics scripts, advertising pixels, and other tracking technologies may begin running as soon as a visitor loads the page, before they’ve had an opportunity to review or accept a cookie consent banner.

In other cases, a website may display a “Decline” option, but background scripts continue running anyway because the banner wasn’t configured correctly. These are the types of issues we look for during a technical review.

How To Fix Your Website

If you’ve received a CIPA demand letter, our first step is understanding exactly how your website is configured. Our review includes:

• Auditing your website for analytics platforms, tracking pixels, and third party scripts.
• Reviewing your cookie consent banner and privacy settings.
• Identifying whether tracking technologies are loading before visitor consent.
• Implementing consent based tracking so non essential scripts remain inactive until a visitor chooses to opt in.
• Documenting our findings and any changes made so you and your attorney have a clear understanding of your website’s configuration.

For most business websites, especially WordPress sites, this process can typically be completed in under a few hours.

Don’t Wait Until You Receive a Demand Letter

Whether you’ve already received a CIPA demand letter or simply want to verify your website follows current privacy best practices, we’re here to help.

A relatively small investment in reviewing your website’s tracking configuration today can help identify potential issues before they become a much larger problem. If updates are needed, we’ll explain exactly what we found, implement the necessary changes, and provide documentation of the work completed.