California has changed a law that affects HVAC companies, not homeowners directly, but it's worth knowing about if you've hired or are researching contractors in the state. Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 690, which limits lawsuits under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), a law originally written to criminalize wiretapping but later stretched to cover website tracking tools like chat boxes, Google Analytics, and Meta Pixel. Businesses, including small HVAC contractors, had been hit with lawsuits claiming these common website features violated customer privacy, with fines sought per website visit rather than per visitor.
The new law removes the ability of individuals to sue over this specific type of claim (called pen-register and trap-and-trace violations). Instead, only the state Attorney General can pursue these cases. The change takes effect January 1, 2027, and also applies to similar lawsuits already filed in the two years before that date. It does not affect other parts of the privacy law, such as rules around wiretapping and intercepted communications, so some lawsuit risk remains for businesses.
For homeowners, this mainly means fewer frivolous lawsuits distracting or draining smaller HVAC contractors, which could help keep service costs and availability more stable. It doesn't change anything about how your own data is collected when you visit a contractor's website, and it has no connection to equipment rebates, energy upgrades, or installation costs.
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