After the Midterms: What Tuesday’s Elections Could Mean for Ecommerce
November 5, 2026
Tuesday’s midterm elections will bring a new balance of power to Washington in January. Democrats will hold majorities in both the House and the Senate, and voters in several states also reshaped their legislatures. For ecommerce merchants, the change will shape how lawmakers approach AI and consumer messaging and the litigation abuse that increasingly comes with them. Here is what happened and what it could mean for online businesses.…
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$688 Billion and 2.3 Million Jobs: What Shopify’s New Report Says About the American Entrepreneur Economy
October 14, 2026
Shopify’s 2026 Entrepreneur Effect report puts a number on the ripple effects of independent commerce. More than half of the global total lands in the United States, and the state-level data tells an even more interesting story. The top-line figure is big: for the year ending June 30, 2026, Shopify’s merchant and partner ecosystem generated more than $1.2 trillion in global economic activity and supported more than 9.6 million jobs worldwide.…
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Court Holds Serial TCPA Plaintiff — and His Lawyer — on the Hook for the Full Cost of Defending a Fraudulent Lawsuit
October 9, 2026
For years, ecommerce brands have watched a cottage industry of serial TCPA plaintiffs turn marketing compliance into a settlement business. A new order out of the Eastern District of Missouri shows what can happen when a defendant refuses to pay up — and when a court is willing to look past the complaint to the conduct behind it. On Sept 30th, Judge Schelp ordered that Fisher Investments is entitled to recover all of the reasonable attorney’s fees it spent defending against a TCPA lawsuit the court found was brought “in complete bad faith.” Just as notable: the plaintiff’s attorney and his law firm are jointly and severally liable for the entire award.…
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FTC and States Sue Amazon Over Alleged Secret Ad Surcharge: What It Means for Independent Ecommerce
September 29, 2026
On August 31, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission and 22 state attorneys general sued Amazon, alleging that for more than seven years the company secretly inflated the prices advertisers paid for Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands and Display ads. The complaint estimates the scheme likely extracted over $20 billion from roughly 1.2 million U.S. advertisers, including more than 500,000 small and medium-sized businesses.…
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Fourteen Cases, One Ruling: Oregon Federal Court Slams the Class-Certification Door in Wilson v. Freeway Insurance
August 24, 2026
For nearly two years, EIA members have watched a familiar name appear atop TCPA class action complaints: Chet Michael Wilson. Last week, the fight over whether Mr. Wilson may ever serve as a class representative reached a dramatic inflection point. On August 19th, Judge Michael J. McShane granted Freeway Insurance's motion to deny class certification, denied Mr. Wilson's attempt to voluntarily dismiss his own case, and entered evidence-preservation orders reaching both the plaintiff and a non-party law firm — with a written opinion to follow. …
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Gerald Lane Forced to Acknowledge Under Oath That 145 Show-Cause Orders Have Been Issued in Central District of California; Judges in the District Then Issue Six More
July 31, 2026
Last fall we reported on Gerald D. Lane, Jr. and a handful of missed deadlines in his sprawling "quiet hours" litigation campaign. We noted then that "judges in dozens of other quiet hour cases have also filed Orders to Show Cause." Ten months later, that pattern has not slowed — it has compounded. The Order to Show Cause (OSC) is a court's warning shot: comply with a deadline or a rule, or explain yourself and risk dismissal or sanctions. …
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