Shining the Light on a Recent Wave of Potential Privacy Claims

Key point: Plaintiffs’ attorneys have started sending a wave of letters asserting opt-out and access rights under California’s Shine the Light law.

Over the last three months, businesses have been receiving requests from California residents seeking to exercise their rights under California’s Shine the Light law, Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.83. These requests are sent by attorneys who purport to represent a California resident who is a “customer” of, and has an “established business relationship” with, the business receiving the request. The requests seek an accounting of the customer’s personal information disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes within the past year.

While innocuous on their face because they do not threaten litigation, the requests are a potential trap for t