In a decisive 32-0 vote on June 03, 2025, the California State Senate cleared SB 690, signaling its support for an amendment that would drastically alter the state’s wiretapping statue. The Senate had until June 6, 2025 to approve SB 690 and refer it to the California State Assembly.
As we reported earlier this week (https://cipaworld.com/2025/06/02/cookie-cutter-solution-senate-bill-690s-commercial-business-purpose-exemption-could-crumble-cipa-lawsuits/), SB 690 seeks to exempt the use of website tracking technologies – such as pixels, cookies, and session replays – from the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”) if these technologies are deployed for a “commercial business purpose.”
Proponents of SB 690 have emphasized the need to curb aggressive and often frivolous CIPA lawsuits arising out of the use of website tracking tools in recent years. Given the unanimous vote, there appears to be bipartisan momentum to reform one of the most heavily litigated state privacy statutes. However, as SB 690 moves to the Assembly, the debate is likely to sharpen around efforts to harmonise CIPA with California’s data privacy law – the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”). Critics have already pointed out that the CCPA does not let consumers file lawsuits for most privacy violations, leading to concerns that SB 690 may weaken meaningful protection.
What’s clear is that SB 690 is on a fast track to reshape California’s privacy litigation and enforcement landscape.