Submission + - Federal District Court: TOS documents Illusionary (jdsupra.com)
Binestar writes: SUMMARY: On April 15, 2009, a Texas federal district court held that an arbitration provision in Blockbuster's online terms of service was "illusory" and unenforceable because Blockbuster had reserved the right to change the terms of service at any time. Harris v. Blockbuster Inc., No. 3:09-cv-217-M (N.D. Tex. April 15, 2009). If followed by other courts, the Harris decision could have significant implications not only for website operators, but also for any company that wishes to retain the right to modify its standard terms for existing customers.
Essentially, the rules for a TOS change require that a user is given notices of changes and an opportunity to accept or reject them. Websites that have unilateral wording in their Terms of Service have now had those documents struck down in court. This can have far reach consequences among the many many sites that have improperly worded Terms of Service.
The fix is easy though: Just change the wording to say that you will notify your users if the terms change and give them the ability to accept or reject the changes.
Essentially, the rules for a TOS change require that a user is given notices of changes and an opportunity to accept or reject them. Websites that have unilateral wording in their Terms of Service have now had those documents struck down in court. This can have far reach consequences among the many many sites that have improperly worded Terms of Service.
The fix is easy though: Just change the wording to say that you will notify your users if the terms change and give them the ability to accept or reject the changes.