Digital marketers in California can breathe a sigh of relief in light of the dismissal of a putative class action lawsuit against The Gap, Inc (“Gap”). The case, Ramos v. The Gap, Inc., Case No. 23-CV-04715-HSG (N.D. Cal. Oct. 09, 2024), centered around alleged privacy violations stemming from the retailer’s use of a marketing optimization software provided by third-party vendor, Bluecore, Inc (“Bluecore”). The Court granted Gap’s motion to dismiss, providing much needed clarity on the application of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”).
Plaintiff’s Claims
Plaintiff Efren Ramos alleged that Gap, in conjunction with Bluecore, invaded customer privacy by embedding unique, trackable URLs in marketing emails. When clicked, these URLs allegedly allowed Bluecore to capture customer data such as email address, device type, geolocation, IP address and click location. This data, in…