The Pentagon wants commercial AI, and AI companies want the Pentagon’s business. But the terms that make or break these deals are often about data, security, and rights, not algorithms. That demand runs deep across U.S. defense customers and the defense industrial base, and AI companies are increasingly eager to supply it, directly or through
The California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, has issued its tentative ruling in Variety Media, LLC v. Superior Court, the closely watched writ proceeding that asks whether the pen register provisions of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”) apply to common website tracking technologies. The tentative decision would grant Variety’s petition in part and direct the trial court to sustain Variety’s demurrer with leave to amend. The court’s reasoning cuts in both directions. The panel would hold that CIPA’s pen register statute reaches internet communications, rejecting the threshold defense that has anchored many motions to dismiss. But it would also hold that a pen register captures only metadata identifying the destination of an outgoing communication, and that a website visitor’s IP address identifies the source of a communication rather than its destination. Under that construction, the complaint before the court fails to state a claim.
Penal Code section 638.51 prohibits installing or using a pen register without a court order or the user’s consent. Over the past three years, plaintiffs and pro se litigants have filed hundreds (if not thousands) of lawsuits, arbitration demands, and pre-suit letters alleging that cookies, pixels, analytics tools, and similar technologies are unlawful pen registers because they collect visitors’ IP addresses and device information. Trial courts have divided on whether the statute, enacted with telephone surveillance in mind, reaches these tools at all. No California appellate court has answered the question in a published decision.
Continue Reading California Court of Appeal Tentatively Holds That Collecting a Website Visitor’s IP Address Alone Does Not Constitute Pen Register Activity Under CIPA
Senior United States District Judge William H. Orrick, sitting in the Northern District of California, denied a motion to dismiss last week in an Automated License Plate Recognition (“ALPR”) matter, McGinty v. Reimagined Parking LLC, d/b/a Imperial Parking.[1] Judge Orrick held that the plaintiff plausibly alleged actionable harm based on his “right to know” about the use of ALPR systems in two garages. The order follows Bartholomew v. Parking Concepts, Inc.[2] and the guidance of Mata v. Digital Recognition Network, Inc.,[3] concluding that the California Supreme Court would likely recognize violation of a consumer’s “right to know” as actionable harm under California’s ALPR law if presented with the question.
The decision is significant because it marks the first time a federal judge adopted the state-court trajectory created in Bartholomew and Mata. Bartholomew treated the alleged failure to make required ALPR disclosures in an ALPR Privacy Policy as an actionable injury to a consumer’s right to know under the law. Though Mata did not deal with the failure to present an ALPR Privacy Policy, the decision in Mata did offer further guidance on how courts should analyze asserted ALPR harms.
Continue Reading Federal Court Follows Bartholomew Reasoning in Denying Motion to Dismiss ALPR Lawsuit
On July 20, 2026, the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District issued a notable decision in Mata v. Digital Recognition Network, Inc.,[1] which addresses the standing requirements for private claims under California’s Automated License Plate Recognition (“ALPR”) law. At the heart of the decision lies the question whether a violation of the
Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology is facing increasing legal scrutiny as courts, regulators and individuals attempt to examine and expose the various ways in which license plate data is captured, collected, shared and used. Recent disputes over ALPR technology have shifted away from issues of public safety and toward whether the private sector businesses and governmental organizations, among others, that utilize ALPR adequately disclose its use and sharing, as well as implement proper safeguards around this potentially sensitive, location-based personal information.
The private sector’s use of ALPR technology is facing challenges and possible legal exposure. In February of this year, California’s First Appellate District addressed the requirements imposed by the state’s ALPR Law in Bartholomew v. Parking Concepts, Inc., and in particular addressed what constitutes sufficient “harm” under the law to state a claim.1,2 In that matter, the plaintiff alleged that a parking garage owned and operated by Parking Concepts collected his license plate data without making a privacy policy regarding the collection publicly available. First, the Court determined that the parking garage camera system constituted a ALPR system under the law – that is, that it was “a searchable computerized database resulting from the operation of one or more mobile or fixed cameras combined with computer algorithms to read and convert images of registration plates and the characters they contain into computer-readable data.” But more importantly, the Court concluded that using ALPR technology without a publicly disclosed privacy policy stating when and how ALPR is collected and used violates an individual’s “right to know” of the activity, which is sufficient to allege harm under the law.
Continue Reading Automated License Plate Reader Technology Raises Concerns Over Private Sector Compliance and Government OverreachEpisode 14 is now live. In this episode of Consumer Counterpoint, we sit down with Chicago partner Jay Carle to discuss the launch of Seyfarth’s new D.A.T.A. Law practice group. Jay shares insights into the group’s multidisciplinary approach and how it’s designed to help clients stay ahead of emerging data and technology challenges.
Robotics and artificial intelligence are converging at an unprecedented pace. As robotics systems increasingly integrate AI-driven decision-making, businesses are unlocking new efficiencies and capabilities across industries from manufacturing and logistics to healthcare and real estate.
Yet this convergence introduces complex legal and regulatory challenges. Companies deploying AI-enabled robotics must navigate issues related to data privacy, intellectual property, workplace safety, liability, and compliance with emerging AI governance frameworks.
Traditionally, robotics was viewed as a standalone discipline focused on mechanical automation. Today, robotics is increasingly powered by machine learning algorithms, natural language processing, and predictive analytics—hallmarks of AI technology.
This evolution raises critical questions for legal teams:
As robotics increasingly incorporates AI functionality, traditional contract structures for hardware procurement and service agreements require significant updates. This evolution introduces new risk categories that must be addressed through precise drafting and negotiation.
Continue Reading The AI-Driven Evolution of Robotics
California Senate Bill 690 (SB 690), introduced by Senator Anna Caballero, is continuing to proceed through the California state legislative process. The proposed bill would amend the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) by adding an exception to the statute which has the effect of permitting use of tracking technologies for “commercial business purposes.” CIPA
The California Privacy Protection Agency (“CPPA”) has made it abundantly clear: privacy compliance isn’t just about publishing the right disclosures – it’s about whether your systems actually work. On May 6, the agency fined Todd Snyder, Inc. $345,178 for failures that highlight a growing regulatory focus on execution of California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) compliance. The action sends a powerful message: even well-resourced companies are not insulated from enforcement if they don’t actively test and manage how privacy rights are honored in practice.
The action against Todd Snyder was rooted in executional failure. The company had a portal in place for consumer rights requests, but it wasn’t processing opt-out submissions – a failure that lasted for roughly 40 days, according to the CPPA. The cookie banner that should have enabled consumers to opt out of cookie tracking would disappear prematurely, preventing users from completing their requests.
The company further required users to verify their identity before opting out and requested sensitive personal information, such as a photograph of their driver’s license. The CPPA determined this was not only unnecessary, but a violation in itself. The allegations around improper verification reflect concerns raised in a CPPA Enforcement Advisory issued last year, which cautioned businesses against collecting excessive information from consumers asserting their privacy rights.
Continue Reading CPPA Underscores That Businesses Own CCPA Compliance – Even When Privacy Management Tools FailMore Information & To Register
November 11 – 13, 2024
Fairmont Scottsdale Princess
Scottsdale, AZ
Seyfarth Shaw is a sponsor for the 2024 ANA Masters of Advertising Law Conference, the biggest advertising, marketing, and promotion law conference in the nation. The conference will take place November 11-13 at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Scottsdale, Arizona. During the conference Seyfarth attorneys Joe Orzano and Kristine Argentine will present on a breakout panel and Ken Wilton, Ameena Majid, and Gina Ferrari will lead a roundtable discussion. Additional details are provided below.
Continue Reading Seyfarth to Sponsor and Present at 2024 ANA Masters of Advertising Law Conference