Insights

California state and federal courts continue to see extensive litigation involving the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”). When enacted in 1967, CIPA targeted traditional telephone wiretapping. However, its reach has expanded as new technologies enter the market. Today, private CIPA claims often concern website tracking and a business’s choice to embed analytic tools on its website.

2026 will be a significant year for retailers and e-commerce companies, with significant changes on the horizon that will affect the entire industry and ecosystem. Potential headwinds and developments in product safety, pricing, artificial intelligence, data privacy, website compliance, and environmental responsibility are expected. But amidst these changes, there are likely significant opportunities that retail and e-commerce businesses can capitalize on.

In Trump v. CASA, the Supreme Court significantly constrained the equitable authority of federal district courts to grant universal or nationwide injunctive relief, clarifying that, with specific exceptions, a federal court’s power to grant relief is limited to the parties before it. When it was issued, many bemoaned CASA’s implications for preventing government overreach.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed into law the most significant update to New York’s consumer protection law in 45 years — the Fostering Affordability and Integrity through Reasonable Business Practices Act, or FAIR Business Practices Act — expanding the scope of the state’s authority to now challenge unfair and abusive business practices. The measure, backed by New York Attorney General (“AG”) Letitia James and signed on December 19, 2025, amends New York’s General Business Law § 349, giving regulators new tools to protect consumers and promote fair marketplace practices.

On December 22, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) took its first step in enforcing its August 2024 Consumer Review Rule (“Rule”) that regulates online companies’ moderation and curation of user reviews, by issuing warning letters to 10 unidentified companies alerting them of their potential violations of the Rule, and cautioning that continued noncompliance could lead to enforcement action and substantial civil penalties. The FTC warning letters directed each recipient to immediately cease and desist from any non-compliant practices and required the company to confirm in writing the steps taken to ensure ongoing compliance with the Rule.

In October 2025, the Second Circuit addressed a recurring procedural issue: the standard of review district judges must apply to objections to magistrate judge reports and recommendations (“R&Rs”) on dispositive motions. In Nambiar v. The Central Orthopedic Group, LLP, the Second Circuit clarified that district judges are required to conduct a de novo review of any portion of an R&R to which a party has made timely and specific objections—even when those objections restate arguments previously made before the magistrate judge. This decision resolves confusion stemming from district courts that have limited de novo review to "new" arguments, and it sets clear expectations for how parties should challenge R&Rs going forward.

As microplastics begin making headlines and sparking scientific inquiry into the impacts of these pervasive particles, state legislators, regulators, and law enforcers—as well as private plaintiffs’ counsel—are taking action. In California, a bipartisan coalition of legislators passed AB 823, expanding the scope of an existing state ban on products containing plastic microbeads. Governor Newsom vetoed the bill, citing concerns that the ban would inadvertently slow the adoption of non-plastic alternatives.

California continues its blistering pace in enacting artificial intelligence regulations. In 2024 alone, California enacted 18 AI-related bills seeking to regulate AI tools and increase transparency around AI data disclosure.

Rule 16.1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, titled “Multidistrict Litigation,” takes effect today, December 1, 2025. The adoption of this rule provides a long-awaited framework specific to district courts’ management of MDL proceedings. However, many critics of the new rule are concerned that it does not impose mandatory obligations on MDL courts, and thus lacks the teeth required to establish meaningful change.

Utah Attorney General Derek Brown (R) and North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson (D) have announced a nationwide bipartisan “AI Task Force,” in partnership with major AI developers (including OpenAI and Microsoft) and the Attorney General Alliance (AGA), a bipartisan nonprofit that serves as a forum for attorneys general around the United States to discuss and collaborate on policy and enforcement initiatives.

President Trump is preparing to sign an Executive Order that would seek to forestall state regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) by threatening federal lawsuits and the withholding of some federal funds. The draft, unsigned six-page Executive Order, “Eliminating State Law Obstruction of National AI Policy” (EO), the text of which has been circulating publicly since November 19, would declare it the policy of the Administration “to sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance through a minimally burdensome, uniform national policy framework for AI.”

Microplastics pollution has emerged as a significant issue as the public learns more about the presence of microplastics in the environment and how they may enter the human body.

Election Day 2025 included two high-profile elections that determined who will serve as the next state attorney general for the Commonwealth of Virginia and for the State of New Jersey. Former Virginia Delegate Jay Jones, a Democrat, was elected the next Virginia Attorney General and in New Jersey, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, was elected New Jersey’s next governor. Governor-Elect Sherrill is expected to appoint a Democrat as the next New Jersey Attorney General.

Imagine a typical morning at your retail store, hospital, or hotel—customers are arriving, staff are busy, and suddenly, federal agents from ICE appear at your front desk. The surprise is real, but panic does not have to be. Unannounced inspections conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) inspectors have been occurring for years, but in recent months, ICE has ramped up inspection visits across the service sector, targeting I-9 compliance and employment records. These visits are not always dramatic raids; more often, they are routine checks that can escalate if your team is not prepared.

In the first few years following the public launch of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the autumn of 2022, litigation related to AI focused primarily on claims of copyright infringement. Suits revolved around allegations that the data on which AI models train, and/or the output they produce, infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others. (While some of these cases have settled or reached preliminary judgments, many remain ongoing.)

A new series of lawsuits have been filed in California courts alleging violations of the state’s Business and Professions Code § 17529.5 (the “Anti-Spam Law”). These cases target companies that send marketing and promotional emails to California residents, and they could present serious legal and financial risks for businesses engaged in email marketing.

In 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the civil penalties issued by the SEC against individuals for committing securities fraud were unconstitutional because they were levied without a jury trial.[1]

On September 9, 2025, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction as to certain provisions of California’s Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act. This interlocutory ruling is significant for two reasons. First, it demonstrates why and how state laws can withstand and avoid First Amendment challenges. Second, it showcases the potential difficulties in establishing associational standing on behalf of member technology and digital commerce companies.

The Really Simple Licensing Collective (“RSL Collective”), a nonprofit dedicated to creating collective licensing solutions for content creators and publishers, has announced Really Simple Licensing (“RSL”), a new standard designed to stop crawlers from scraping websites for content without permission or compensation. If adopted, RSL could have major implications for both online platforms and the AI technologies that source content for training data from them.

After months of anticipation, the Senate has received a nomination for a Commissioner of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).