Plaintiffs Face Challenges in Cellular Phone Application Privacy Litigation

San Francisco partner Michael Stortz, Chicago partner Justin Kay, and Los Angeles associate Jessica Medina authored the lead article, “Plaintiffs Face Challenges in Cellular Phone Application Privacy Litigation,” for the June edition of Pratt’s Privacy & Cybersecurity Law Report. Pratt's Privacy & Cybersecurity Law Report provides analysis and commentary from the nation's top privacy and cybersecurity law practitioners on developments in national and international privacy and cybersecurity law areas, ranging from data mining and consumer privacy to government surveillance and cyber terrorism.

Entities including the Golden State Warriors, app developer Signal360, the Indianapolis Colts, Google and Yahoo recently have faced claims brought pursuant to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (the “Wiretap Act”)—a federal statute originally passed in the 1960s that Congress never could have intended to apply to emails and to smartphone apps. The article examines the plaintiffs’ theories and allegations, how the defendants have responded, how courts are approaching the issues, and the potential implications for any future suits brought under the Wiretap Act.

Read “Plaintiffs Face Challenges in Cellular Phone Application Privacy Litigation.”