Shopify to Face Data Privacy Class Action After Court Ruling

Shopify is facing a data privacy class action lawsuit in the U.S.

The proposed class action had been dismissed by a lower court judge and a three-judge 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel but was brought back to life Monday (April 21) in a 10-1 decision by the full 9th Circuit, Reuters reported Monday.

In the proposed class action, California resident Brandon Briskin alleges Shopify installed tracking software on his iPhone without his consent when he made a purchase from a retailer and then used his data to create a profile and sell it to other retailers, according to the report.

Shopify, a Canadian company that operates across the U.S., argued that it should be sued in Delaware, New York or Canada rather than California, the report said.

In the Monday ruling, the court said Shopify can be sued in California because it targeted residents of the state with its tracking software, per the report.

Following the decision, a lawyer for Briskin told Reuters that the court’s ruling will make internet-based companies accountable for their actions.

A Shopify spokesman said, per the report, that the decision makes online retailers vulnerable to lawsuits anywhere and “attacks the basics of how the internet works.”

The ruling could make it easier for American courts to assert jurisdiction over online platforms, the report said, noting that 30 states and Washington, D.C., sided with the plaintiff and said they should be able to enforce their consumer protection laws against companies that do business in their marketplaces.

Shopify reported in February that during the fourth quarter of 2024, the unified commerce platform saw a 31% increase in revenue to $2.81 billion, a 26% rise in full-year revenue to $8.88 billion, and a 9.1% increase in subscription revenue.

“2024 was one for the books and further solidified us as a leader in unified commerce,” Shopify President Harley Finkelstein said during the company’s quarterly earnings call. “I’m especially proud to share that in the U.S. alone Shopify is now over 12% of the eCommerce market share. And we continue to grow rapidly in places like Europe and Japan.”