ARTICLE · 21 AUGUST 2014

Online Terms - What Works, What Doesn’t

Field Law

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The online fine print - those terms and conditions that you agree to when you buy something online

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The online fine print - those terms and conditions that you agree to when you buy something online - it really does matter where those terms are placed in the checkout process. A recent US case illustrates this point. In Tompkins v. 23andMe, Inc., 2014 WL 2903752 (N.D. Cal. June 25, 2014), the court dealt with an online checkout process for DNA testing kits sold by 23andMe. When completing a purchase, customers were not presented with any mandatory click-through screen for the transaction to complete. There was a passive link at the footer of the transaction page, something the court dismissed as a "browsewrap", which was ineffective to bind the customers. In other words, the Terms of Service were not effective at that point in the transaction.

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