A U.S. appeals court has reinstated a proposed data privacy class action against Canadian e-commerce company Shopify, allowing the case to proceed in California. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 10-1 that Shopify could be held accountable in California for collecting personal data via tracking cookies without user consent. Plaintiff Brandon Briskin, a California resident, alleges that Shopify installed tracking software on his iPhone during a purchase, using his data to build a customer profile sold to other merchants.
Shopify contended it should not be sued in California because it operates nationwide and did not specifically target the state. However, the court found that the company’s actions deliberately targeted Californians. The court’s decision could have broader implications for the jurisdiction of U.S. courts over internet companies. A coalition of 30 states and Washington, D.C., supported Briskin, citing the need to uphold state consumer protection laws. Shopify, backed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, argued that the ruling could unfairly subject global service providers to lawsuits in unrelated jurisdictions.
