November 18, 201114 yr Active Members I wondered how Google gets away with showing porn pix on regular Google searches. Today a Wall Street Journal columnist takes a look at those long agreements we automatically click "I agree" to. What a shock it is. The WSJ is a subscription paper, both in print and online, so I will quote a couple of paragraphs here under Fair Use: "Now, according to the Amazon.com Conditions of Use, "If you visit or shop at Amazon.com, you accept these conditions." The conditions follow and follow and follow—more than 2,000 words' worth. It's even worse if you choose to do your book reading on an e-reader. Amazon advises that if you're not willing to sign an agreement running north of 2,500 words, "then you may not use the Kindle, any Reading Application, any Digital Content, or the Service." "under Google's Terms of Service you may not use the search engine or gmail or any of the company's other features if "you are not of legal age to form a binding contract with Google." Since, in most states, minors cannot enter into binding contracts, Prof. Kerr points out that "a 17-year-old who conducts a Google search in the course of researching a term paper has likely violated Google's Terms of Service." Given the proliferation of such agreements, who isn't in some trivial violation of a provision at any given moment?" Not that the feds are going to prosecute. But they could... WSJ link
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