Under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), it is illegal to for a company to record conversations without advance warning and consent. Recently, the 9th Circuit held that unlawful recordings extend and to apply to the internet, including to websites that utilize session replay software to track and record website visitor’s movement, keystrokes, and other activity on their website. There have also been several lawsuits recently alleging that live chat bots and human conversations that are recorded by companies without advance notice and consent are a violation of CIPA.

Under CIPA, each unlawfully recording may amount to a statutory penalty of $5,000. Crosner Legal, P.C. is investigating allegations against various websites that are recording visitor activity with session replay software and that maintain live chats without providing advanced notice and obtaining consent of recording.

Why does this case matter?

We strongly believe that recording live chats without obtaining prior consent is illegal and it needs to stop. Sensitive information such as name, email, phone number, address, account numbers, and other personal information cannot be recorded by any party by any means without advanced notice and mutual consent. With so many recent data thefts, it is more important than ever to protect yourself.