Shopify Data Collection Appeal Depends on California Activities

Federal courts in California have jurisdiction over a lawsuit involving Shopify’s data collection from online shoppers, because the claims arise directly from the company’s commercial activity in the state, a lawyer for the plaintiff told a federal appeals court Wednesday.

Shopify uses its online platforms, provided to merchants in California, to collect sensitive personal and financial data from shoppers, using the data to create personalized profiles of California consumers, which it sells to third parties for a profit, Nicolas Sansone, an attorney for Briskin, told the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit during an oral argument.

Judge Consuelo ...