By Michael McGrady Jr
October 5, 2026 · 12:41 PM·3 min read
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—California Gov. Gavin Newsom last week signed Senate Bill (SB) 690 into law, significantly curtailing a private right of action several people have reportedly abused to seek compensation from online platforms that utilize marketing software like Google Analytics.
In a letter to the State Senate announcing his adoption of SB 690, initially proposed by state Sen. Anna Caballero, a Democrat from Merced, Gov. Newsom explained that he signed the legislation in an effort to reform CIPA lawsuit abuse targeting small businesses throughout California.
AVN reviewed the legislative language, noting that the bill significantly reforms provisions within the California Invasion of Privacy Act that make it easy for individuals to sue websites and apps for using web tracking tools, like pixels, analytics tools, IP-address tracking and other advertising tech.
Other elements of the final legislation restrict enforcement and investigations of so-called "pen register" legal claims to the California Attorney General's office. A pen register is a device that is used to record and track data like non-content metadata, or the data about a user, to inform digital marketing strategy.
"This measure addresses the vexatious use of CIPA lawsuits and demand letters to extract settlement money from small businesses that unwittingly install software on their websites that at times have tracked and shared the information of visitors to the site," notes Newsom's letter.
"I applaud the author's efforts and align myself with the goal of protecting small businesses from overzealous lawsuits based on a statute written without today's complex technological landscape in mind," Newsom added.
Some of these "overzealous" lawsuits describe actions brought by consumers against the parent companies of popular adult entertainment websites Pornhub.com and Bellesa. As AVN previously reported, consumers sued these companies in federal district courts, arguing that their collective privacy rights were violated because the platforms utilized commonly used digital marketing software.
For the case of Pornhub's parent company, Aylo, plaintiffs allege that using marketing software that is provided by Google and found in marketing stacks across multiple digitally native industries is a violation of CIPA and, therefore, constitutes a claim for compensation or settlement.
Gov. Newsom continued, "However, additional work in this area is needed, as CIPA contains other decades-old statutes that are also susceptible to abuse by overly aggressive litigants. I urge the Legislature to take this on next year to ensure a fair balance between protecting private information and preventing rapacious litigation."
This change to CIPA could have a dramatic impact on current litigation, including claims upon which AVN has reported.
Corey Silverstein, an attorney representing adult industry clients, applauded Newsom's adoption of SB 690.
Silverstein explained, "SB 690 is a welcome development for adult industry businesses facing costly litigation over website tracking technologies.
"It takes a specific category of claims—website and app claims under CIPA’s pen-register and trap-and-trace provision—out of private plaintiffs’ hands and reserves enforcement to the California Attorney General," Silverstein said. "But businesses should understand the limits of this reform."
SB 690 "[does] not eliminate other CIPA claims or give operators blanket permission to track visitors. For adult platforms, protecting sensitive browsing information remains essential. My advice is to review existing litigation with counsel and continue evaluating tracking tools, consent practices and third-party access to user data."
Similarly, fellow adult industry attorney Lawrence Walters shared his praise for SB 690's passage.
Walters told AVN, "SB 690 ends the private lawsuit mill built on CIPA’s pen-register provision. Adult sites and other online businesses have spent years litigating and settling claims they should have never faced, based on use of ordinary analytics tools.
"Those claims now belong to the Attorney General, including many already on file," he said. "Other CIPA theories remain, but this was the one driving most of the abuse.”
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Fuente: avn.com
