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ARTICLE · 17 JANUARY 2018

Free Internet-Service Contracts Caught Up By Consumer Protection Legislation In Quebec

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This Fall, the Superior Court of Quebec rendered a decision against Yahoo! Inc. and Yahoo! Canada Co. ("Yahoo!")...

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Langlois Lawyers LLP
Langlois Lawyers LLP
Elisabeth Neelin
Elisabeth Neelin
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This Fall, the Superior Court of Quebec rendered a decision against Yahoo! Inc. and Yahoo! Canada Co. ("Yahoo!") that exposes companies that offer free services to the application of consumer protection legislation, including the mandatory provisions of the Quebec Consumer Protection Act ("CPA"). In so doing, the Court declared inapplicable the choice of forum clauses in the terms of service accepted by users at the time of registration (Demers v. Yahoo! Inc., 2017 QCCS 4154). No appeal is sought in connection with this decision.

In this case, Yahoo! is targeted by an application for authorization to institute a class action in relation to data security incidents in 2013 and 2014 in which the personal and financial information of users was stolen. Contesting the jurisdiction of the Quebec Courts, Yahoo! invoked a clause from the terms of service by which users waived the jurisdiction of any local court in favour of the courts of Ontario.

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