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You are not wrong. But beware the predatory lawyers who will come after you for ostensible violations of California’s Invasion of Privacy Act, California Penal

You are not wrong. But beware the predatory lawyers who will come after you for ostensible violations of California’s Invasion of Privacy Act, California Penal Code section 630, et seq. (“CIPA”). One company I work with received multiple arbitration demands (claimed "privacy" damages in excess of $25000 each, helpfully offered to settle for $5000 each!). And this company didn't even set any cookies or run any 3P tracking on their site! Their (famous-you-know-them, expensive, California-based) lawyers said "yes, we are seeing this more and more. We can fight and win for $200K, or you can pay the $50K of claims outstanding and add a banner to your site". Their CEO chose the less-expensive option. :-/

viraptor 3y ago
Does the law even matter in this case? If the idea was to make you convinced you'd spend $200k to win a bogus case, you can be sued for literally anything...
- quesera 3y ago
  This is true, but CIPA is the law that is being exploited for its ambiguous applicability. There are lawyers out there actively targeting companies who legitimately believe they do not need a cookie banner. They seek out customers of the company ("Are you now, or have you been, a customer of X? You may be the victim of Y/eligible for legal settlement Z/etc.") They may even identify the corporate targets, and recruit new customers for their purpose. And the way to avoid the issue completely is to add a stupid, superfluous, cookie banner. (Which, in the height of absurdity, requires adding a cookie). It was a painful and semi-expensive lesson for this small company. And their expensive/prominent lawyers say they are seeing the problem increasing. (I asked why they didn't take the time to warn their clients, but did not get a satisfactory answer). So it's worth a thought and a note when the idea of not needing a cookie banner comes up.

viraptor 3y ago

Does the law even matter in this case? If the idea was to make you convinced you'd spend $200k to win a bogus case, you can be sued for literally anything...

quesera 3y ago
This is true, but CIPA is the law that is being exploited for its ambiguous applicability. There are lawyers out there actively targeting companies who legitimately believe they do not need a cookie banner. They seek out customers of the company ("Are you now, or have you been, a customer of X? You may be the victim of Y/eligible for legal settlement Z/etc.") They may even identify the corporate targets, and recruit new customers for their purpose. And the way to avoid the issue completely is to add a stupid, superfluous, cookie banner. (Which, in the height of absurdity, requires adding a cookie). It was a painful and semi-expensive lesson for this small company. And their expensive/prominent lawyers say they are seeing the problem increasing. (I asked why they didn't take the time to warn their clients, but did not get a satisfactory answer). So it's worth a thought and a note when the idea of not needing a cookie banner comes up.