Intel Accused of Wiretapping Because It Uses Analytics to Track Keystrokes, Mouse on its Website
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Intel is among the growing list of companies being sued for allegedly violating American wiretapping laws by running third-party code to track interactions, such as keystrokes, click events, and cursor movements, on its website.
The plaintiff, Holly Londers, claims she visited Intel's website approximately a dozen times in the twelve months to January 2021, and during those visits the chip maker "utilized tracking, recording, and/or 'session replay' software to contemporaneously intercept [her] use and interaction with the website, including mouse clicks and movements," and information that she input, pages visited and viewed, and dates and times of visits.
The lawsuit has been brought under the 2020 Florida Security of Communications Act, which makes it a crime to intentionally intercept another person's electronic communications without prior consent.
Londers's complaint does not specify the session replay software involved but The Register understands from a conversation with one of the attorneys involved that it's believed to be Clicktale, which was acquired in 2019 by Contentsquare, a maker of similar analytics software.
[...] However, the attorney on the Florida case who spoke with The Register said the central issue is whether website visitors gave informed consent. And he voiced optimism that the Florida cases will survive motions to dismiss because Florida's wiretapping law is a strong consumer protection statute.
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