"'Thumbs Up' Like Emoji Has Legal Effect of 'Consent' in Contracts, Court Rules"

Signing Contracts with Emojis and Breach... Large Compensation Required
Court: "Common Aspect of Modern Social Communication"

A court ruling has determined that emoticons used online can have the same effect as signatures in contracts. As a result, a Canadian farmer was ordered to pay a large sum of money.

On the 7th (local time), The Washington Post (WP) and CNN reported that a court in Saskatchewan, Canada, recently ruled that a thumbs-up emoticon holds valid contractual effect.

The case originated from a dispute in March 2021 between a farmer and a grain company in southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada. The grain cooperative Southwest Terminal (SWT) drafted a contract with Chris Achter, who cultivates flax used as a material for oil, medicine, and textiles, to receive 86 tons of flax in November of that year at a price of $17 per bushel. After drafting the contract, SWT sent it to Achter via mobile phone with a message asking him to "please check the contract." Achter responded to the message with a thumbs-up emoticon, meaning "like."

However, Achter did not fulfill the delivery of the flax by the deadline, and SWT filed a lawsuit for breach of contract. At that time, the price of flax had risen to $41 per bushel, more than 2.4 times the original price.

SWT argued, "We understood the emoticon as Achter agreeing to the contract." They also testified that they had made at least four contracts with Achter in the same manner before. The only difference this time was that instead of replies like "Let's do that" or "Sounds good," an emoticon was sent.

On the other hand, Achter countered, "The emoticon was not meant to indicate agreement to the contract terms but merely to confirm receipt of the message," adding, "I thought the contract would be sent again via fax or email."

He also added that while SWT staff regularly sent him messages, most of them were informal rather than official.

The court ruled that Achter breached the contract. It found that the parties had at least a "minimal verbal contract" and that Achter failed to honor the contract after the price of flax suddenly increased. Accordingly, Achter, who failed to fulfill the contract, was ordered to pay damages of 82,200 Canadian dollars (approximately 80.68 million Korean won) plus interest.

The court stated, "While it is acknowledged that emoticons are not a traditional means of signing documents, nevertheless, in this situation, they were a valid method of conveying the purpose of a signature."

Presiding judge Timothy Keene said, "With technological advancements, emoticons have become a common form of communication in modern society," adding, "This is a new precedent showing the reality that legal systems will face in the future, and courts must be prepared to handle such issues."