Get the research letter
Companies change their terms quietly. We read every version and catch what actually changed. One email a week on the changes that matter and what they mean.
Any legal dispute with Cerebras must be handled under California law in courts located in Santa Clara County, California, regardless of where you are located.
This analysis describes what Cerebras's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
Users outside California, including international users and businesses in other U.S. states, are required to resolve disputes in a California court, which may be geographically and financially impractical.
Interpretive note: Enforceability against non-California U.S. consumers and EU/EEA users depends on applicable jurisdiction; EU consumer law may override this clause for EU residents.
This clause means that if you have a legal dispute with Cerebras, you may be required to litigate it in Santa Clara County, California, even if you are located elsewhere, which could significantly increase the cost and difficulty of pursuing a claim.
How other platforms handle this
In the EU and EEA, the choice of Texas governing law shall not apply only where a mandatory consumer protection law explicitly prohibits such choice of law provisions.
For any claims that are not subject to arbitration...U.S. Residents: Delaware law; venue exclusively in the state or federal courts in New Castle County, Delaware
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California and the United States without regard to conflicts of laws provisions
Monitoring
Cerebras has changed this document before.
Receive same-day alerts, structured change summaries, and monitoring for up to 20 platforms.
"These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law. You agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in Santa Clara County, California.Excerpt from Cerebras's Terms of Service
REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: Exclusive forum selection clauses designating California courts are standard in Silicon Valley technology agreements and are generally enforceable in commercial contracts. However, their enforceability against consumers varies by jurisdiction, and EU/EEA users may retain the right to litigate in their home jurisdiction under applicable EU consumer protection directives. GDPR does not permit waiver of EU data subject rights through a foreign jurisdiction clause. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Low to Medium. For business customers the clause is standard and the California choice of law is predictable and well-developed for technology disputes. For individual consumers, particularly those outside the United States, the practical effect of requiring litigation in Santa Clara County may function as a de facto barrier to claims, even where the liability cap makes small claims theoretically available. JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU/EEA consumers cannot be deprived of mandatory local consumer law protections by a foreign governing law clause, making this provision of limited effect against EU residents for matters governed by EU consumer law or GDPR. UK users may similarly retain local forum rights under UK consumer law post-Brexit. Non-California U.S. residents may find the forum selection clause enforceable but practically burdensome. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Enterprise procurement teams should assess whether the California governing law and exclusive jurisdiction clause is acceptable in the context of their organization's standard vendor contract requirements. Organizations operating under non-U.S. legal frameworks should consider whether supplemental jurisdiction agreements or data processing addenda are required. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Organizations subject to GDPR should assess whether the governing law clause affects their ability to enforce data subject rights or contractual data protection obligations. Legal teams in non-U.S. jurisdictions should confirm whether the California choice of law provision is enforceable against their organization's data protection rights under local law.
Regulatory citations, enforcement risk, and due diligence action items.
Provision-level monitoring, governance timelines, and regulatory mapping built from archived source documents and historical version tracking.
Users outside California, including international users and businesses in other U.S. states, are required to resolve disputes in a California court, which may be geographically and financially impractical.
This clause means that if you have a legal dispute with Cerebras, you may be required to litigate it in Santa Clara County, California, even if you are located elsewhere, which could significantly increase the cost and difficulty of pursuing a claim.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 267 platforms. See the full comparison.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Cerebras.