California courts are increasingly handling class action lawsuits alleging that cookies and other web technologies violate privacy laws by collecting personal data without consent. A key issue in these cases is whether California courts can exercise personal jurisdiction over out-of-state companies operating location-neutral websites.
A recent ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is raising the stakes for any business that operates a website collecting user data. In Briskin v. Shopify, decided in April 2025, the court held that California courts can exercise personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state company—Shopify—for allegedly collecting personal data from a California resident without proper disclosure or consent. This decision signals a significant shift in how courts view digital jurisdiction in the age of online commerce and widespread data collection.
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