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Franchise Tax Reform: While both versions would remove the alternative real and tangible property measure moving forward, resulting in $400 million of tax savings for businesses, the House amendment to HB1893/SB2103 differs substantially from the Senate bill.
Differences between the two bills will be ironed out in a conference committee next week.
Business Website Privacy Class Action Lawsuits Claiming Wiretapping: There is a Tennessee class action lawyer targeting the business community by threatening website operators with hundreds of millions of dollars in statutory damages under Tennessee's powerful wiretapping statute under its criminal code (title 39). Tennessee's wiretapping law was passed in 1994, when the internet was in its infancy, the law was designed to criminalize the "interception" of oral, wire, or other electronic communications (old-school phone tapping). Violating this wiretapping statute is a Class D Felony and the person who is injured by this can sue for $10,000. Plaintiff's lawyers claim that every time a person visits a website that uses third-party technology, like cookies or pixels, it is an "interception" and that the website operator owes the visitor $10,000 per person per click.
Website privacy class actions are on the rise across the nation hitting almost every kind of industry. Defendants across the country are being challenged to explain what their websites collect and share with third parties and why they are allowed to do so. Almost every company has a website and makes use of online tracking tools like cookies, pixels, or other basic Internet technology.
This is an issue for every business, in every industry. The Tennessee Chamber and business community hold the view that Tennessee businesses have the right to set up their website the way they want to, the right to choose the third parties that they want to work with and that this is not criminal wiretapping and is not a reason for hundreds of millions of dollars in statutory damages.
Information provided by the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce.
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