Web Contracts Can't Be Changed Without Notice

RZG writes "The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled on July 18th that contracts posted online cannot be updated without notifying users (PDF of ruling). 'Parties to a contract have no obligation to check the terms on a periodic basis to learn whether they have been changed by the other side,' the court wrote. This ruling has consequences for many online businesses, which took for granted their right to do this (see for example item 19 in Google's Terms of Service)."

Comments

Good!

[iknownuttin]

It always pisses me off that some web services say in their very long agreement that they have the right to change the terms at any time. I refuse to do business with those people.

Talk America....their telemarketers used to always bother me everyday (before the Do Not Call List) and they always gave me the creeps.

The appeals court also said the district court was wrong to grant Talk America's request for arbitration.
Arbitration panels are usually loaded with industry folks and you, the consumer, will rarely get a fair shake.

...as well as how they use their personal information after mergers or acquisitions is one that privacy experts and others have been grappling with since the emergence of e-commerce in the 1990s.
When I took a class on buying businesses, one of the ways to finance the deal was to sell off the customer list of the company you're acquiring - regardless of any privacy statement they may have stated to their customers. It's not just eCommerce sites. It's also the Mom and Pop bakery.

I'm all for capitalism and business and everything, but, sometimes, some of the things that are done makes my stomach churn. It does give me some empathy and understanding for the anti-corp folks here, though.

Re:And of Course

[Wuhao]

No, the 9th Circuit is a federal court, and so this decision has consequences nation-wide.

Re:Kind of sad

[Penguinisto]

Actually, no. Any clause that has the potential or actuality of violating your rights as granted by law is automatically null and void. It's pretty obvious that "we can change the terms at any time" has a huge potential of doing just that.

The reason they still get written in is because most people haven't the clue or desire to assert that aspect of contract law.

/P

Re:And of Course

[cpt kangarooski]

Well, that's true, but it's not binding precedent except for the district courts under the 9th Circuit. For everyone else, it is merely influential.

Re:And of Course

[cpt kangarooski]

No, that reputation is undeserved. The 9th Circuit is huge, and so it sends many more cases to the Supreme Court than any of the other circuits do. However, in percentage terms, it's actually pretty average IIRC. It really needs to be split, but unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a good way of doing that.