On December 6, 2012, the California Attorney General announced a lawsuit against Delta alleging that its "Fly Delta" mobile app (app) violates the 2004 California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA). This is the first lawsuit alleging a CalOPPA violation.

The complaint alleges that Delta failed to conspicuously post a privacy policy informing users what personally identifiable information the app collects and how the company uses it. The California Attorney General sent a CalOPPA non-compliance letter to Delta and other app developers in October 2012.

This lawsuit shows the California Department of Justice's Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit is engaging in enhanced scrutiny of company app privacy practices. Companies should be mindful that CalOPPA requires all commercial operators of websites and online services, including apps, which collect personally identifiable information from Californians, to post a privacy policy that is reasonably accessible to the app's users.