Florida website tracking litigation is gaining momentum this year, with plaintiffs increasingly invoking the Florida Security of Communications Act (FSCA) to challenge common website analytics and advertising tools, especially where those tools allegedly capture and share sensitive user communications. The FSCA is an old state wiretap statute now aimed at modern website tracking. The FSCA provides for liquidated damages of up to $1,000 per violation.
Specifically, a 2025 ruling resulted in a decision that changed Florida’s legal landscape and opened the door for a possible flood of FSCA claims. W.W. v. Orlando Health, Inc., No. 6-24-cv-1068-JSS-RMU, 2025 WL 722892 (M.D. Fla. Mar. 6, 2025). In Orlando Health, the plaintiff alleged that the defendant’s website intercepted communications about her healthcare treatment, then used that information for advertising purposes, and did so through third-party pixels that intercepted and transmitted the plaintiff’s communications with the website including “the plaintiff’s health conditions,” “desired treatment,” and “preferred doctors.” Id. at 2. The plaintiff further alleged the information was used to serve targeted advertisements.
The court cited the legislative intent of FSCA, emphasizing that the legislature specifically intended to protect private medical information. On that basis, the court concluded the plaintiff adequately alleged interception of contents under FSCA. In other words, the theory that the website tools captured substantive healthcare communications was sufficient, at least at the motion to dismiss stage. Since this decision, plaintiffs have filed hundreds of similar wiretap claims in small claims court under the FSCA arising out of website tracking technology. This may be a signal that Florida federal courts may allow similar privacy and wiretapping pleadings to survive early challenges.
The combination of alleged interception of content, the use of third-party pixels, and the statute’s liquidated damages framework are perhaps the driving forces for the emerging FSCA litigation trend.