Shopify Compelled to Confront U.S. Lawsuit Over Data Privacy Violations

In a ruling that may facilitate American courts' ability to exercise jurisdiction over online platforms, a U.S. appeals court on Monday revived the planned data privacy class action against Shopify.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled 10-1 that the Canadian e-commerce corporation could be sued in California for gathering personally identifiable information from customers who shop on California retailers' websites.

California citizen Brandon Briskin claimed that when he purchased sportswear from the website I Am Becoming, Shopify put cookies tracking software on his iPhone without his permission and utilized his information to build a profile that it could provide to other retailers.

Shopify said that since it trades internationally and did not target California with its actions, it wasn't entitled to be sued there. Briskin could file a lawsuit in Delaware, New York, or Canada, according to the Ottawa-based business.

The complaint should be dismissed, according to a lower court judge and a panel of three justices of the 9th Circuit. However, the full appeals court ruled that Shopify "expressly aimed" its actions toward California.

According to a Shopify representative, the ruling "attacks the basics of how the internet works," dragging online businesses into distant courtrooms regardless of where they actually operate. It's unclear what legal action Shopify will take next.

According to Briskin's attorney, Matt McCrary, the court strengthened accountability for online businesses by dismissing the claim that "a corporation is jurisdictionally 'nowhere' because it does business 'everywhere.'

In February, Shopify said that its unified commerce platform witnessed a rise of 31% in revenue to $2.81 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, and a 26% increase in full-year revenue to $8.88 billion.

 A comprehensive grant of competence would hurt back-end businesses whose applications are used globally, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which backed Shopify. Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and nine western U.S. states are all part of the 9th Circuit.