Compliance Radar · Tracking lawsuits
California SB 690 ends private pen-register suits over website trackers
SB 690 ends one kind of tracker lawsuit. The bigger one, wiretapping, stays.
- Status
- Enacted. Wiretap (631) and eavesdropping (632, 632.7) claims are unaffected.
- Takes effect
- January 1, 2027; also covers pending claims in suits filed on or after January 1, 2025
- Announced
- Sep 30, 2026 (signed)
- Type
- law
What changed
Pen-register claims (section 638.51) over sites and apps become Attorney General only, ending the private suits behind many tracker cases. Wiretap claims at $5,000 per violation remain; a business-purpose exemption was dropped in July 2026.
Who it affects
Any site or app running trackers, pixels, chat tools or session replay for California users.
What to do
- Block non-essential trackers, chat recording and session replay until consent.
- Disclose chat recording before a chat starts.
- Keep timestamped consent records.
What ComplyMo already handles
Page audits and daily re-checks: Growth and up. Everything else: every plan, from $19 a month.
Sources
- California Legislature: SB 690 (2025-2026) (opens in a new tab)
- Baker Donelson: SB 690 signed (opens in a new tab)
- Ninth Circuit: Popa v. Microsoft (August 26, 2025) (opens in a new tab)
- Skadden: CIPA is still a mess (June 2026) (opens in a new tab)
Summary of public sources, not legal advice.