In the final weeks of California’s 2026 legislative session, lawmakers passed a series of bills that stand to significantly reshape the state’s privacy and AI regulatory landscape. Of particular significance, Senate Bill 690 (SB 690) seeks to curtail one of the principal theories underlying the recent wave of California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) litigation, which has swept across diverse industries to affect website operators ranging from consumer brands to financial services firms. The bill would eliminate private actions under CIPA’s pen register and trap-and-trace provision, leaving the California Attorney General as the sole party authorized to bring those civil claims. If enacted, SB 690 would also apply retroactively to any pending pen/trap claim in actions filed within two years before its operative date, potentially affecting certain website-tracking cases already in litigation.