• by Wendy Davis , September 22, 2025

The ecommerce platform Shopify is urging a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit alleging that it wrongly collects data from Californians who made purchases at online retail sites.

The lawsuit, brought by state resident Brandon Briskin, "takes aim at the routine operation of the internet," Shopify writes in a motion filed late last week with U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton in Oakland.

Shopify adds that Briskin's complaint, which sets out his allegations against the company, "fails to support the idea that there is a nefarious plot to intentionally steal his data."

The platform's new papers come in a dispute dating to August 2021, when Briskin alleged in a class-action complaint that Shopify surreptitiously installed tracking cookies on his device as he was making a purchase from the online retailer IABMFG (iambecoming.com).

He alleged that Shopify was then able to track his activity and purchases across its network of merchants, and that it transmitted information to the payment processor Stripe, which was then able to analyze and process the information.

The complaint included claims that Shopify violated the state's wiretap law and engaged in "intrusion upon seclusion" -- a privacy claim that can be brought in California over "highly offensive" violations.

Hamilton initially dismissed the case, ruling that the allegations, even if true, wouldn't show that Shopify was subject to the jurisdiction of California courts. Instead, she said, the allegations could establish only that Shopify was a vendor for the retailer IABMFG.

Earlier this year, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision and sent the matter back to Hamilton for further proceedings.

Shopify is now asking Hamilton to rule that Briskin's allegations, if proven true, wouldn't support the claims in the complaint.

Among other arguments, Shopify says some of Briskin's claims fall outside the statute of limitations.

Briskin alleged in the complaint that he made a purchase at IABMFG on June 14, 2019, but he didn't bring suit until more than two years later.

Shopify argues that claims over California's wiretap law must be brought within one year of the alleged violation, and that claims for "intrusion upon seclusion" must be filed within two years.

Shopify also argues that California's wiretap law -- which generally prohibits companies from intercepting electronic communications without all parties' consent -- doesn't prevent service providers like itself from collecting information on behalf of retail sites.

"Shopify’s role was limited to performing functions for IABMFG pursuant to IABMFG’s request and instructions, not eavesdropping on IABMFG or its customers," the company says.

Hamilton is expected to hold a hearing on December 4.