As more and more contracts are communicated via text message, the meaning of emojis is undergoing increased legal scrutiny. As to whether a “thumbs up” emoji constitutes a valid contract signature, a recent ruling by a Canadian judge has given a proverbial thumbs up.
The Court of King’s Bench in Saskatchewan ruled in June that a “thumbs up” emoji in response to a contract was a valid signature and a binding agreement, The Guardian reported.
The case before the court involved a grain purchaser’s text to a farmer to confirm a contract to purchase flax; the text read, “please confirm flax contract.” The farmer responded with the “thumbs up” emoji but did not deliver the flax by the time outlined in the contract.
The farmer argued that the “thumbs up” merely served as a confirmation that the contract had been received but not agreed to. In court, Justice Timothy Keene ruled otherwise.
“This court readily acknowledges that a 👍 emoji is a non-traditional means to ‘sign’ a document but nevertheless under these circumstances this was a valid way to convey the two purposes of a ‘signature’,” Keene wrote in his final ruling, according to The Guardian.
“This appears to be the new reality in Canadian society and courts will have to be ready to meet the new challenges that may arise from the use of emojis and the like,” Keene added.
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