The Court of the King for Saskatchewan (Canada) has changed the rules of the game after accepting the emoji representing a thumbs-up (👍) to express contractual consent. This immediately generated worldwide concern since practically all significant transactions are mediated by a contract: renting houses, job recruitments, buying cars, opening bank accounts and credit cards, among many others, involve the drafting of an agreement between the parties and signatures at the end.
A Flaxseed Contract: It all began when a farmer from Saskatchewan agreed to sell 87 metric tons of flaxseed to a grain buyer in 2021. The buyer had signed the contract and sent a photo to the farmer, who responded with a thumbs-up emoji (👍), as reported by The New York Times. Farmer Chris Achter claimed that the thumbs-up emoji only confirmed that he had received the flaxseed contract and was not an endorsement of its terms, according to the ruling. He stated that he understood the text to mean that the complete contract would be sent to him later via fax or email for review and signing.
On the other hand, grain buyer Kent Mickleborough pointed out that when he sent the photo of the contract via text message to Achter’s phone, he had written, “Please confirm the flaxseed contract.” So when Achter responded with a thumbs-up emoji, Mickleborough said he understood that Achter “agreed to the contract” and that was “his way” of signing it.
Breach of the Agreement: Judge Keene noted that Achter and Mickleborough had maintained a long-standing business relationship, and in the past, when Mickleborough had sent hard wheat contracts to Achter, he had replied with a brief “looks good,” “okay,” or a “yes.” Therefore, Keene determined that a valid contract existed between the parties, and Achter had breached that agreement by not delivering the flaxseed. The judge ordered Achter to pay damages amounting to CAD 82,200, which equals USD 61,000.
Case-by-Case Basis (👍): In issuing this ruling, Judge Keene mentioned Dictionary.com’s definition of the thumbs-up emoji: “used to express agreement, approval, or encouragement in digital communications, especially in Western cultures.” Julian Nyarko, an adjunct professor at Stanford Law School, commented to The New York Times that the legal test for agreement to a contract focuses on how a reasonable person would interpret the signals given by both parties and added that, in some cases, a verbal agreement was sufficient. “For most purposes, a reasonable person, if they see a thumbs-up emoji, would think that the sender wants the contract,” Nyarko said.
Nevertheless, the precise meaning of emojis will continue to be an open question in the United States and Canada, depending on the facts of each case, said Eric Goldman, a law professor and co-director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law, to the Times.
Goldman, who has identified 45 U.S. court rulings that have referenced the thumbs-up emoji, pointed out that some young people use the emoji sarcastically or insincerely. Others simply use it to acknowledge receipt of a message, similar to a verbal “uh-huh.” In some Middle Eastern countries, he said, the gesture is offensive.
The magistrate argued that emojis are used daily in communication through instant messaging, whether on social media, instant messaging applications, or SMS. “In this sense, these symbols, which imitate everyday gestures such as smiling faces or handshakes, are becoming part of the common language of users,” as stated by The Guardian.
