Shopify controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2021
Publishers sue Shopify over alleged textbook piracy
Lawsuit filed
Five textbook publishers filed a lawsuit in a U.S. court accusing Shopify of allowing websites using its technology to reproduce and sell textbooks and other materials allegedly pirated or infringing the publishers' trademarks. The allegations are claims in the lawsuit, not a stated court determination.
Company response
Clarification — Shopify
Shopify spokeswoman Rebecca Feigelsohn said the company requires merchants to agree to its terms of service and acceptable use policy (AUP) before signing up.
Source excerpt
In a lawsuit filed in a U.S. court on Wednesday, the publishers allege the e-commerce company allows several websites using its technology to illegally reproduce and sell textbooks, test banks and other manuals that are identical or "substantially indistinguishable" from their products.
The five publishers making the accusations against the Ottawa-based technology company are Macmillan Learning, Cengage Learning Inc., Elsevier Inc., McGraw Hill LLC and Pearson Education Inc.
Shopify spokeswoman Rebecca Feigelsohn said the company requires merchants to agree to its terms of service and acceptable use policy (AUP) before signing up.
2021
Shopify sued over alleged collection and tracking of shoppers’ information
Lawsuit filed
A California consumer sued Shopify over allegations that the e-commerce platform collected personal information and tracked consumer behavior across merchant websites without informing customers. The complaint asserts privacy and other statutory claims and seeks class certification, damages, restitution, fees, and injunctive relief; these are allegations, not findings.
Source excerpt
A California consumer has sued Shopify Inc. and Shopify (USA) Inc. (collectively, Shopify) over allegations that the e-commerce platform does not inform customers who use payment forms on merchant websites that it is collecting their information and tracking consumer behavior across more than one million websites.
The complaint states several claims for invasion of privacy and violations of the California Computer Data Access and Fraud Act and Unfair Competition Law.
Monday’s Northern District of California complaint alleges that Shopify’s surreptitious conduct violates consumer rights protected by the California Constitution and state and common law.
2020
Shopify discloses breach affecting fewer than 200 merchants
Issue disclosure
Shopify disclosed a data breach affecting fewer than 200 merchants. According to the company, two support-team members allegedly engaged in a scheme to obtain certain merchants' customer transactional records. Shopify stated that it investigated the incident, terminated the two individuals' access to its network, and referred the matter to law enforcement.
Company response
Investigation — Shopify
after an investigation it terminated the two support team members' access to the Shopify network
Personnel action — Shopify
it terminated the two support team members' access to the Shopify network
Source excerpt
SHOP) (SHOP.TO) says the data breach was a result of "two rogue members" on a support team who allegedly "engaged in a scheme to obtain customer transactional records of certain merchants."
September 22, 2020 1 min read
notice on the company's discussion forum that after an investigation it terminated the two support team members' access to the Shopify network and "referred the incident to law enforcement."
2019
Breakdown of Mailchimp integration agreement
Shopify and Mailchimp ended an integration agreement after disagreements concerning customer privacy and data collection. The dispute affected merchants that used both services and highlighted the governance and data-sharing issues that can arise in platform ecosystems.