A canadian judge ruled that in this country the thumbs-up emoji (👍) can be recognized as a valid way to seal a contractequivalent to a signature, as this is a common mode of communication and courts should not “try to stem the tide of technology and common usage”.

Emojis are used daily in instant messaging communication, whether through social media, instant messaging apps, or text messages. In this sense, these symbols, which imitate everyday gestures such as smileys or handshakes, have become part of the common language of users.

In this context, a Canadian judge ruled in a recent case that sending a message with the thumbs-up emoji can be interpreted as a valid means of formally sealing a contract.

In fact, this same judge indicated that, although it is a new method, it is a “valid” way to convey the objectives of a companysince it is a common mode of communication and the courts “cannot and should not attempt to stop the wave of technology”.

This was reflected in the summary evidence of the trial to which this case refers, in which a farmer and a flax buyer clashed over a breach of contract, and which ended up deciding in favor of the buyer, who will have to receive $82,000 Canadian from the farmer.

Specific, the case took place in a court of King’s Bench, in the province of Saskatchewan (Canada) where, according to what has been exposed, a farmer replied with the thumbs-up emoji to a message in which a contract to buy flax was sent. The buyer thought it was a contract validation message, but the farmer disagrees“I just wanted to say that I received your text message,” he said.

As indicated, the buyer sent the purchase contract by message, followed by the text “confirm linen contract”. After that, the farmer replied with the emoji, and there was no further interaction between the two. Indeed, the agreed linen was not delivered.

The farmer claimed that the buyer had not sent him the complete terms and conditions of the contract and, in this sense, he understood that the complete contract would be sent to him later by email. Yet, He sent the emoji intending to imply that he “got the message” but denies “having accepted the thumbs-up emoji as a digital signature for the incomplete contract”.

However, the case, placed in the hands of the Canadian judge Timothy Keeneruled in favor of the buyer, since the thumb emoji has been recognized as a means of sealing a contract, as it is a symbol that implies acceptance and is commonly used.

“This court easily recognizes that an emoji is a non-traditional way to sign a document, but nonetheless, in these circumstances, it was a valid way to convey both purposes of a signature and to transmit the acceptance of the linen contract”, specifies the judge.

So, regarding its validity as a signature, Keene clarified that the signer can be identified using their unique phone number as a record.

In this regard, the farmer’s lawyer said that by accepting this thumb emoji as a form of “identity and acceptance”, they are “opening the doors” to allow more cases to be presented that ask interpretations of the meaning of different emojis.

“The courts will be inundated with all kinds of cases if this court determines that the thumbs-up emoji can replace a signature,” the farmer’s attorney said. To which Justice Keene clarified that this seems to be “the new reality of Canadian society” and therefore the courts “will have to be prepared to deal with the new challenges that may arise from the use of emojis and the like. “.