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A thumbs-up emoji is as good as a signature: a farmer's incredible story

In our daily communications, the use of emoji is now completely out of the box. We all use them to communicate with friends and colleagues, we use them on social networks, in our posts and beyond. 

What happened in Canada, however, is unbelievable. A Canadian farmer was forced to pay over $60,000 in fines to his suppliers, as a local judge ruled that the use of the thumbs-up emoji in a message has the same legal value as a signature on an official contract.

This ruling paves the way for a whole series of future implications on the use of these emoji, so we need to be increasingly careful how we communicate through modern technology.

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It really happened in Canada
In our daily communications, the use of emoji is now completely out of the box. We all use them to communicate with friends and colleagues, we use them on social networks, in our posts and beyond. What happened in Canada, however, is unbelievable. A Canadian farmer was forced to pay over $60,000 in fines to his suppliers, as a local judge ruled that the use of the thumbs-up emoji in a message has the same legal value as a signature on an official contract.
Freepik
Background
This ruling concerns a farmer in Canada who had to pay more than 60,000 euros because of a wheat purchase contract that he did not fulfil. This is the story: a company that buys wheat sent a text message to its suppliers, in which it offered to buy flax at a price of C$17 per tonne with delivery. Farmers Bob and Chris Achter bargained to sell the flax at 18 US dollars per staple.
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What happened
After that, a representative of the company he wanted to buy sent a very simple picture of the contract to Chris's mobile phone, with a text message saying 'Confirm contract'. In response to having to view and accept the contract, Chris Achter sent the thumbs-up emoji. The farmer in fact told the judge that he only agreed to review the contract afterwards, but the judge decided that the 'thumbs up' emoji was a valid confirmation of the contractual agreement.
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The consequences and the joy of lawyers
This ruling is historic in its own way, because it opens up the use of emoji as components of nature and which have legal validity in court. Labour law experts have stated that this ruling could open up enormous complications in business relations. A very trivial thumbs up could from now on also be interpreted as an agreement on the new terms of a contract, even if one does not actually agree with them.
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The establishment of a precedent
However, it should be specified that not all emoji will have the same legal value. In fact, the judge himself, and all those who commented on the ruling, reiterated the fact that each similar case will have to be handled and assessed in its individuality, and not simply based on this precedent, which in any case is likely to influence similar cases in the near future. Therefore, great care must be taken in the use of emoji, especially when it comes to official documents, as they may carry more weight than is commonly thought.
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