Wiretap Litigation supports H.R. 10263, the HAIL Act. This is an advocacy project; sources and legal scope are identified below.
Why this matters
A small business uses analytics to understand visits and a separate booking tool to receive appointments. Those tools can send event information and identifiers to outside providers. Some lawsuits challenge that collection under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) and related laws.
A familiar tool is not automatically lawful or unlawful. The data, recipients, consent and legal theory matter. Responding to a claim can nevertheless carry costs before those questions are resolved.
A reported business cost
Brandon Phipps of Bakersfield’s Second Star Technologies told KERO/23ABC that his business paid more than $20,000 in combined legal fees and settlement costs. This is one owner’s reported spending, not a national estimate. Invoices and settlement terms were not independently reviewed. KERO/23ABC, May 6–7, 2026.
What HAIL would do
Representative Russ Fulcher’s H.R. 10263 would bar claims and enforcement under covered wiretapping, pen-register, trap-and-trace and eavesdropping laws for commercial-purpose collection, processing or disclosure. It also reaches covered proceedings already underway. The introduced bill includes business operations, marketing, consumer input and transactions. Introduced text, §2.
The privacy-rights question
The proposal is broader than small businesses or cases without harm. It contains no express exception preserving a covered claim when actual harm is shown, and it does not create a replacement remedy. Other legal routes depend on their own requirements and the bill’s application. Read the fuller explanation.
How SB 690 differs
California’s SB 690 addresses a narrower civil-action route for certain online pen-register claims, reserving that route to the Attorney General. It does not amend CIPA §§631 or 632. HAIL is a broader federal proposal. Read SB 690.
Status as verified September 25, 2026: HAIL was introduced and referred to House Judiciary; it is not enacted law. The California record shows SB 690 enrolled with the Governor, with no verified signature or chapter number. Check the official records for subsequent action.