Class Action
Otter.ai Wiretapping
In re Otter.AI Privacy Litigation (Brewer v. Otter.ai, Inc.)
Where it stands
Filed by named plaintiff Justin Brewer and consolidated as In re Otter.AI Privacy Litigation before Judge Eumi K. Lee. On August 13, 2026 the court largely denied Otter's motion to dismiss (2026 WL 2351237): CIPA § 631, ECPA, BIPA, unjust enrichment and UCL claims survive. CFAA, CDAFA, Washington Privacy Act and most common-law privacy claims were dismissed; the § 632 claim survived only as to one plaintiff who pleaded 'deeply personal medical information.'
Key ruling
August 13, 2026 motion-to-dismiss order holding Otter is 'a third-party eavesdropper who collects, retains and uses communications for its own commercial purposes' rather than a mere recording tool — the 'invited participant' defense failed because Otter retained recordings for model training beyond transcription. The first major U.S. ruling on AI meeting-assistant wiretap liability.
The record
- Court
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
- Case number
- 5:25-cv-06911-EKL
- Filed
- 2025-08-15
- Defendants
- Otter.ai, Inc.
- Plaintiffs
- Nationwide class of individuals — excluding Otter accountholders and meeting hosts who authorized the Notetaker — whose conversations were captured by Otter Notetaker/OtterPilot from August 15, 2023 forward, plus a California subclass reaching back to August 15, 2021 for meetings hosted in or attended from California.
- Technology at issue
- Otter Notetaker / OtterPilot AI meeting transcription bot joining Zoom, Google Meet and Teams calls
- Relief sought
- Actual and punitive damages, declaratory relief, an injunction against further interception, restitution and disgorgement of profits from use of transcripts for model training, plus fees. CIPA § 631 carries $5,000-per-violation statutory damages.
- Counsel of record
- Meyer Wilson Werning Co., LPA · Levin Law, P.A.
Claims pleaded
Sources (3)
- Invited Participant or Third-Party Eavesdropper? Court Holds That Otter.ai Is A Third-Party EavesdropperThe National Law Review · 2026-08
- Class Action Complaint, Brewer v. Otter.ai, Inc.Fisher Phillips (hosting complaint) · 2025-08-15
- The First Major AI Meeting Assistant Lawsuit: Practical Lessons from the Otter.ai LitigationZwillGen · 2026
This page describes a publicly filed case. This site is not counsel on this matter, nothing here is legal advice, and the allegations described are allegations unless a court has said otherwise.