Consumer Protection Statute Does Not Apply To Online Services.

Apple, Inc. requested or required plaintiff to provide his address and telephone number as a condition of accepting his credit card as payment for online services. Civil Code section 1747.08 precludes requiring a consumer to provide personal information as a condition for accepting a credit card as payment for goods or services. In an earlier case, Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma Stores (2011) 51 Cal.4th 524, [246 P.3d 612; 120 Cal.Rptr.3d 531], the California Supreme Court held the statute was violated when a retailer requested and recorded a customer’s zip code during a credit card transaction involving purchase of a physical product. In the instant case, the Supreme Court stated: “Upon careful consideration of the [consumer protection] statute’s text, structure, and purpose, we hold that section 1747.08 does not apply to online purchases in which the product is downloaded electronically.”  Apple, Inc. v. Sup. Ct. (David Krescent) (Cal. Sup. Ct.; February 4, 2013) (Case No. S199384).