Sending a thumbs-up emoji may now be considered an agreement to a legally binding contract, a Canadian judge has ruled.
The thumbs-up emoji proved pivotal in a case involving Saskatchewan farmer Chris Achter and a deal to sell 87 metric tons of flax to grain buyer Kent Mickleborough. Mickleborough signed the contract for the deal and texted a picture of it to Achter and wrote "Please confirm flax contract," according to court documents. Achter responded to with a thumbs-up emoji.
When Achter did not send the flax to Mickleborough, the grain buyer filed a lawsuit stating he thought Achter's thumbs-up emoji was an agreement to the contract.
Judge Keene of the Court of King's Bench in Saskatchewan agreed. He ruled on June 8 that the thumbs-up emoji Achter sent served as an agreement to the contract. Keene ordered Achter to pay Mickleborough $82,200 in Canadian dollars, or $61,000 in U.S. currency.
Mickleborough considered the thumbs-up response to be an agreement between him and Achter because he included the "Please confirm flax contract" text along with the photo of the contract, according to court documents.
The judge said that "a 👍 is a non-traditional means to 'sign' a document but nevertheless under these circumstances this was a valid way … to convey Achter’s acceptance of the flax contract."
While "the case is 'novel,' (at least in Sasketchewan)," Keene wrote, "this Court cannot (nor should it) attempt to stem the tide of technology and common usage - this appears to be the new reality in Canadian society and courts will have to be ready to meet the new challenges that may arise from the use of emoji and the like.”
