Navigating Personal Jurisdiction Based on Social Media Activity: Tips for Practitioners

When will a social media post subject a defendant to personal jurisdiction outside their home state? The U.S. Supreme Court has not weighed in on the personal jurisdiction standard in intentional tort cases based on a defendant’s social media activity. Ever-changing technology and social media use have created a fractured legal landscape across circuit courts. This article does two things: (1) Provides an overview of the fractured landscape; and (2) Attempts to distill some guidelines for practitioners dealing with personal jurisdiction in intentional tort cases involving social media activity. The takeaway is that the defendant’s targeting of the forum state, as opposed to the plaintiff, remains the central issue. In general, a defamatory or negative statement in a social media post alone is insufficient. Where a defendant has doxed the plaintiff, targeted an audience in the forum state, or included forum state-specific content in posts, personal jurisdiction may be more likely.