Thumbs-Up Emoji Holds Legal Weight in Canadian Contracts

A Canadian judge has ruled that the widespread use of the thumbs-up emoji can prove that a person is legally entering into a contract.

According to a report from The New York Times, Judge T.J. Keene stated that the decision reflects a “new reality in Canadian society” as an increasing number of people use emojis to communicate in various settings, including business transactions.

The case aimed to determine if a farmer had agreed to sell tons of flax to a grain purchaser in 2021. According to the report, the purchaser sent the purchase agreement to the farmer with the words, “Please confirm the flax contract.”

When he received the thumbs-up emoji as a response, he understood that the farmer “was agreeing to the contract” and that the emoji represented “his way” of accepting it.

The farmer stated that the emoji was meant to confirm that he “received the flax contract.”

The judge noted that the farmer and buyer had a long-standing business relationship and that the farmer had responded to prior sales agreements with texts such as “looks good,” “okay,” and “yup.”

Justice Keene cited dictionary.com’s definition of the thumbs-up emoji in the decision: “used to express assent, approval, or encouragement in digital communications, especially in Western cultures.”

Eric Goldman, a law professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law, told the Times that, despite the court’s ruling, the meaning of the thumbs-up emoji remains ambiguous in certain circumstances.

Some young people may use the emoji sarcastically or dishonestly, while others may use it to acknowledge receiving a message.

According to him, the gesture may also be offensive in some Middle Eastern nations.

The case reminds “people that using the thumbs-up emoji can have serious legal consequences,” according to Goldman.