In an opinion issued today, the en banc Ninth Circuit held that Shopify, an e-commerce platform, could be sued in California based on allegations that it had installed tracking software on a California consumer’s device. The court concluded that personal jurisdiction could be exercised constitutionally, as Shopify’s conduct was expressly aimed “at California through its extraction, maintenance, and commercial distribution of the California consumers’ personal data in violation of California law.” The Court held that “an interactive platform ‘expressly aims’ its wrongful conduct toward a forum state when its contacts are its ‘own choice and not ‘random, isolated, or fortuitous, even if that platform cultivates a ‘nationwide audience for commercial gain.”
In so doing, the en banc court reached the opposite conclusion of the three-judge panel who had originally heard the case, and overruled a 2020 panel decision, AMA Multimedia LLC v. Wanat, that had held that “forum-specific focus” or “differential targeting” was necessary for a website operator to be subjected to specific personal jurisdiction. Judges Collins and Bumatay each wrote concurring opinions, and Judge Callahan wrote a dissent. In 2024, a three-judge panel had held otherwise.
Public Citizen attorney Nick Sansone argued on behalf of the plaintiff on appeal.
