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Click Like? You May Have Given Up the Right To Sue

Posted by timothy on from the sue-you-sue-anybody dept.

sandbagger (654585) writes "The New York Times reports that General Mills, the maker of cereals like Cheerios and Chex as well as brands like Bisquick and Betty Crocker, has quietly added language to its website to alert consumers that they give up their right to sue the company if they download coupons, or 'join' it in social media communities. Who'd have imagined that clicking like requires a EULA?"

10 of 216 comments (clear)

  1. The power of EULAs only goes so far by kruach+aum · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They could also write in that if I click 'like' on a cereal facebook page I would have to kill myself, but that doesn't make it legally binding.

    1. Re:The power of EULAs only goes so far by Anonymous+Brave+Guy · · Score: 5, Informative

      Indeed. Good luck arguing in court that someone gave up their right to sue. The legal profession tends to be awfully sceptical of such measures, and none more so than judges. While it might stand up if, for example, all parties agreed to use some reasonable form of binding arbitration instead, it's hard to imagine the big company would get anywhere against the little customer under these conditions.

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    2. Re:The power of EULAs only goes so far by tompaulco · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Indeed. Good luck arguing in court that someone gave up their right to sue. The legal profession tends to be awfully sceptical of such measures, and none more so than judges. While it might stand up if, for example, all parties agreed to use some reasonable form of binding arbitration instead, it's hard to imagine the big company would get anywhere against the little customer under these conditions.

      Like locks on a door, this is only to deter the casual litigant. It wouldn't stand up in court, but if someone was to express an interest in suing, GM would reply with "you signed a document saying you wouldn't", and that would be good enough for 99% of the brainless slugs.

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    3. Re:The power of EULAs only goes so far by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      ...GM would reply with "you signed a document saying you wouldn't", and that would be good enough for 99% of the brainless slugs.

      How is clicking Like akin to "signing a document"?
      Does clicking Like make a EULA popup for you to read?
      Does it even notify you that you agree to it's terms on some webpage?
      They would have to argue that anyone clicking like on anything would assume that they agree to something, which I don't think will hold up.

      What wonderful customer relations.
      You click "Like" and they respond with "Fuck You!"

  2. This isn't news... by Ziggitz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Until we hear about this actually holding up in court, which I highly doubt it will. Large companies are preemptively covering their asses in any way they can by flinging shit against the wall and seeing what sticks. I imagine that they've done this in several other ways that also wouldn't be likely to stand up in court, but if any one method does, then the payoff is huge so it makes sense to do it.

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  3. Re:Possibly Worse Than That by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Little did they know that there is a EULA that comes along with my purchase. If they sell me a product, they are agreeing to a long list of provisions which they are free to look up on my Web site.

  4. Re:Possibly Worse Than That by Em+Adespoton · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is actually a really good idea -- someone should create the OpenEULA -- a license agreement that individuals can sign on to, that indicates what conditions apply when a vendor accepts their payment. An organization that hosts the OpenEULA could even do things like get a credit card with the logo and references to the agreement on it, to make it completely legit (if the vendor accepts the card, they accept the liability should they breach the card's contract).

    Anyone up for kicking this off?

  5. Small claims court by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I think small claims court is an under utilized weapon that we have. Everyone wants to sue big. We need a lot of people to start nickle and dime these companies in small claims court. In my state it costs $35 and claims could be up to $3000. The company can send only one person and it cannot be a lawyer. We can file in our local towns and they would have to travel there. Odds are, they will settle.

  6. Re:Possibly Worse Than That by VortexCortex · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Little did they know that there is a EULA that comes along with my purchase. If they sell me a product, they are agreeing to a long list of provisions which they are free to look up on my Web site.

    I did that for HTTP. You'll find our binding agreement in your server logs. In the HTTP user agent header:

    (By continuing to transmit information via this TCP connection beyond these HTPP headers you and the business you act in behalf of [hereafter, "you"] agree to grant the user of this connection [hereafter, "me" or "I"] an unlimited, world wide and royalty free copyright for the use and redistribution of said information for any purpose including but not limited to satire or public display, and agree that any portion of an agreement concerning waiving of my legal rights made via this connection is null and void including but not limited to agreements concerning arbitration; By accepting these terms you also acknowledge and agree that these terms supersede any further agreement you or I may enter into via this connection, and that the partial voiding of agreements will be accepted as a contractual exception regardless of statements to the contrary in further terms agreed to by you or I via this connection. If you do not agree to the terms of using this connection you must terminate the connection immediately. If you do not or can not agree to these terms you do not have permission to continue sending information to me via this connection, and continuing your transmission will be in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.)

    You can add such a clause simply by using any of the various User-Agent switchers for your favorite browser.

  7. Re:Possibly Worse Than That by s.petry · · Score: 5, Informative

    But today's body of law is so great that I'm not sure it's possible for a person to read it all within a single lifetime, let alone piece together all of the cross links and understand everything that applies to you.

    2,567 hours just to read the US Federal Tax law, which is 120% of a work year if your full time job was to read that Law. And just think of your joy when you find out next year laws are changed (not amended) and grows at a frightening rate. 26,300 pages in 1984, to 54,846 by 2003, to 67,204 in 2007, and 73,954 today. Reference.

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    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.