California Invasion of Privacy Act
CA CIPA
Communications · Location
California's wiretap and eavesdropping law. It makes it a crime, and a basis for a private suit, to tap or read communications in transit without all parties' consent, to record or eavesdrop on confidential communications without all parties' consent, to use pen registers or trap-and-trace devices without a court order, and to use electronic tracking devices to follow a person. Plaintiffs have used these provisions in large numbers of suits over website tracking tools.
- Where
- California
- Citation
- Cal. Penal Code 630-638.55
- Status
- In force
- In force since
- 1967-01-01
- Last amended
- 2023-01-01
- Enforced by
- District attorneys and the Attorney General (criminal); private plaintiffs (civil)
- People can sue
- Yes
- Penalties
- Private action for $5,000 per violation or three times actual damages, whichever is greater, plus injunction, with no need to prove actual damages (637.2). Criminal fines up to $2,500 per violation ($10,000 for repeat offenses) and up to one year in jail.
- Applies to
- Any person, business, or entity, including website operators and vendors in suits over chat, session-replay, and tracking tools
- Recording confidential communications without consent of all parties (all-party consent state) (632)
Practices it requires
- Do not tap or make an unauthorized connection with a communication line, or read or learn the contents of a communication in transit without the consent of all parties.Cal. Penal Code 631(a)
- Do not eavesdrop on or record a confidential communication without the consent of all parties.Cal. Penal Code 632(a)
- Do not intercept and intentionally record cellular or cordless phone communications without all parties' consent.Cal. Penal Code 632.7(a)
- Do not install or use a pen register or trap-and-trace device without a court order, except for listed service-provider purposes or with user consent.Cal. Penal Code 638.51(a)-(b)
- Do not use an electronic tracking device to determine a person's location or movement (exception for a vehicle's owner, lessor, or lessee consenting as to that vehicle).Cal. Penal Code 637.7(a)-(b)
Sources
- Official text
- Cal. Penal Code 631 (California Legislative Information)
- Cal. Penal Code 632
- Cal. Penal Code 637.2
- Cal. Penal Code 638.51
- Cal. Penal Code 637.7
- SB 690 (2025-26) bill history
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: Enactment year (1967) is from background knowledge. | SB 690 (2026), which would let only the Attorney General sue private businesses over 638.51 pen-register/trap-and-trace claims about websites and apps, passed the Legislature on August 28, 2026 and was awaiting the Governor's action as of 2026-09-25. | Chapter-level official_url (Part 1, Title 15, Chapter 1.5) was not separately fetched.
Research reference, not legal advice.