Executive Summary: California’s Trap & Trace Law (CIPA § 638.51) has led to a surge in lawsuits against companies accused of collecting user data without proper authorization. Trap-and-trace technology can capture routing and signaling information from website visitors, often through automatically deployed tracking software or third-party tools. These claims carry statutory penalties of $2,500 per violation and often overlap with other CIPA privacy claims. For businesses that use digital tools to grow their brand, understanding these privacy risks is essential to staying legally protected.
When your business grows, you expect more visibility, more clients, and more opportunities. What you don’t expect is a legal demand accusing you of violating privacy laws simply because someone visited your website. Yet that is exactly what many entrepreneurs and online business owners are now facing.
California’s privacy enforcement has become a hotbed of litigation, and companies across industries, even those outside California, are being accused of collecting user data without proper consent. These claims often feel unfair and out of proportion, but ignoring them isn’t the answer. Understanding how these laws work is the first step toward protecting your brand and your revenue.
What Is California’s Trap & Trace Law?
The California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) limits how companies can collect information about people who visit their websites. One provision, Section 638.51, addresses the use of “trap and trace” devices.
A trap and trace device is defined as any device or process that captures incoming electronic impulses that identify the originating number or other dialing, routing, addressing, or signaling (DRAS) information. The common argument is that this term refers to the technology companies use to track details about website visitors, including identifying information tied to a person’s device, location, or digital behavior.
It’s different from wiretapping because trap-and-trace tools don’t record the content of communications. Instead, they collect metadata that can still reveal who the user is and what they are doing online.
How Websites Use Trap & Trace Technology
Many websites install tracking software that automatically collects visitor information, such as:
- Device and browser information
- Approximate geographic location derived from IP address
- Referral sources and URL parameters
- Pages visited, timestamps, and interaction metadata
It is often argued that the data can be combined with third-party platforms to “deanonymize” users, meaning companies can identify exactly who is visiting their site and what they’re doing.
A recent class-action lawsuit against UnitedHealthcare alleged that the company’s website requested personal details from users and then used software to send that data to TikTok for tracking and advertising. Users had no idea this was happening.
That lack of transparency is where the legal exposure begins.
The Consent Problem: Why These Lawsuits Keep Growing
Under California law, companies must obtain a court order before deploying technology that tracks or traces electronic communications.
But many businesses, often unknowingly, due to default settings or third-party integrations, install tracking pixels, analytics tools, form plugins, or advertising software that begins collecting data the moment a user lands on the site, long before they have a chance to “accept cookies” or manage privacy preferences.
This automatic deployment is at the center of dozens of class action lawsuits.
In some contexts, online activity can reveal more than traditional phone dialing information ever could. Depending on the nature of the website and how tools are configured, URL paths, clicks, and page views can expose:
- medical interests,
- financial behavior,
- browsing history,
- geolocation,
- and purchase history.
Legal risk increases if companies pass this data to third parties for advertising or cross-platform analytics without clear disclosure.
Who Is Being Sued?
This issue affects a wide range of industries, including consumer brands, healthcare platforms, and technology-driven businesses. Major brands currently facing trap and trace lawsuits include:
- United HealthCare
- WebMD
- Smashbox
- DraftKings
- Retailers, health platforms, e-commerce sites, and even small businesses
Many of these lawsuits accuse companies of implementing third-party analytics or advertising tools, and sometimes working with TikTok or similar platforms to d match users across multiple platforms. Once matched, companies can run highly targeted ad campaigns based on that recreated identity.
Whether such matching occurs, and whether it is legally actionable, depends on the specific tools used, their configuration, and the disclosures provided to users.
Businesses that use popular third-party tools on their websites, like email marketing software, scheduling apps, analytics, or advertising pixels, may inadvertently fall into the same trap.
The Penalty: $2,500 Per Violation
Section 638.51 allows plaintiffs to seek $2,500 in statutory damages for each violation.
Because a “violation” can occur every time a user visits a tracked page, the numbers can add up quickly, which is why these claims are gaining traction.
In addition to trap and trace claims, lawsuits are also being filed under CIPA’s Sections 631(a) and 632.7, which prohibit wiretapping, eavesdropping, and unauthorized interception of communications. Courts have extended these protections to cover website activity.
What This Means for Online Businesses
If your business relies on digital products, email funnels, advertising pixels, or analytics tools, you need to understand how those technologies operate and how they are disclosed to users. In many cases, legal risk arises not from intent, but from a lack of visibility into how website tools function behind the scenes.
The goal isn’t to scare you. It’s to help you understand how courts are evaluating these claims so you can make informed decisions about your website and data practices.
If you want clarity on privacy compliance, data collection practices, or how your website tools are tracking users, Fidara Legal can help. We review your systems, identify potential exposure, and guide you through the steps needed to protect your brand in a digital environment where privacy claims are only increasing.
