A Canadian judge has ruled that the thumbs-up emoji can be recognized as a valid means of sealing a contract, equivalent to a signature, because it is a common method of communication and courts should not “try to ‘stop the tide of technology and common use’. “.

“Emojis” are used daily in communication by instant messages, whether via social networks, instant messaging applications or SMS. In this sense, these symbols that imitate everyday gestures such as smileys or handshakes are now 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 of conveying the objectives of a company, since it is a common means of communication and that the courts “cannot and should not try to stop the wave of technology.

This is reflected in the summary documents of the trial to which this case refers, in which a farmer and a buyer of flax clashed over a broken contract, and which ended up deciding in favor of the buyer, who will receive 82,000 Canadian dollars (about 56,278 euros) from the farmer.

Specifically, the case took place in a court in King’s Bench, in the province of Saskatchewan (Canada) where, according to what has been exposed, a farmer responded with the “thumbs up” “emoji” to a message in which a purchase contract was sent. The buyer thought it was a contract validation message, but the farmer differs: “I just wanted to indicate that I received your SMS,” he said.

As noted, the buyer sent the contract of said purchase via 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. He therefore sent the “emoji” with the intention of implying that “he had received the message”, but denies “having accepted the thumbs-up emoji as the digital signature of the incomplete contract”.

However, the case, assigned to Canadian judge Timothy Keene, was settled in favor of the buyer, since the “thumb emoji” was recognized as a means of sealing a contract, because it is a symbol that implies acceptance and is commonly used.

“This court readily acknowledges that an ’emoji’ is a non-traditional way to sign a document, but nonetheless, in these circumstances, it was a valid way to convey the dual purposes of a signature and to express acceptance of the linen contract.” , said 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 the presentation of a more large number of cases that require interpretations of the meaning of the various symbols. .’emoji’.

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