services offered to children. The court held that this report “compelled speech” and thus was subject to First Amendment scrutiny. And under that scrutiny, the Ninth Circuit ruled that there could have been a less restrictive way to accomplish protecting children than requiring a DPIA. Not all of the provisions of the law were contested. Those that were not contested included: • Collecting precise location information only if it is strictly necessary and other restrictions are followed. • Not engaging in “dark patterns” to encourage children into sharing more information than necessary for the service. • Using information collected to estimate age for any purpose other than estimating age. As we await further rulings on the Age Appropriate Design Act, companies that offer online services to children should keep in mind the law’s non-DPIA requirements, other similar laws, and the likelihood that the California AG will move forward with the fight to keep the law on the books and to enforce it. California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) . In 2025, a surge of wiretapping litigation arose from California’s wiretapping law, the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA). Under CIPA plaintiffs seek to apply the decades-old law to website data collection through the use of website tracking tools like pixels, cookies, analytics tools, and more. Plaintiffs’ attorneys often argue that the use of such technologies amounts to illegal surveillance. The best defense against these suits includes implementing a website consent mechanism, like a cookie banner, and ensuring the site contains an applicable privacy policy, and website terms containing class action waivers. The cookie banner and pop up should be: (i) user friendly, (ii) transparent about the tracking technologies used such that an individual can make an informed decision about their consent, (iii) configured to block non- essential cookies until the website visitor has provided their consent, and(iv) the website must provide a clear opt-out mechanism. 126
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