Saturday, August 19, 2017

Sorry, but those huge walls of terms and conditions you never read are legally binding • The Register

Sorry, but those huge walls of terms and conditions you never read are legally binding • The Register
"You may never read those lengthy terms and conditions attached to every digital download or app but, in America at least, they are legally binding.
Image result for read for comprehensionSorry.
That's the conclusion of a panel of appeal judges earlier this week when shining beacon of corporate responsibility Uber insisted its users had agreed not to sue the company somewhere in its long list of lengthy legal locutions.
On Thursday, the US Second Court of Appeals decided [PDF] that when customers installed Uber's ride-hailing app and agreed to the terms and conditions – even though virtually none of them actually read the details – they were obliged to go through arbitration if they had a dispute with the company.
...Despite this particular decision, there is a growing movement toward making the law reflect reality more closely: customers almost never reads the terms of conditions which are often very lengthy and legalistic and which many companies, especially app manufacturers, allow to be "agreed to" with a single tap or click.
Image result for picking dog turdsThe ludicrousness of the situation was recently highlighted when Brit public Wi-Fi provider Purple inserted a "community service clause" into its terms and conditions that required users to carry out 1,000 hours of community service in exchange for free access. 
The task list included cleaning toilets, painting snail shells and picking up dog turds.
It was a stunt pulled as part of the outfit's overhaul of its practices to fall in line with the UK's latest data protection legislation..."
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