Will the FTC Target EULAs Next? 116
A few weeks ago, we discussed news that the Federal Trade Commission was planning to look into DRM and the way its characteristics are communicated to customers. Now, Joystiq's Law of the Game column speculates that EULAs could be on the FTC's list to review as well.
"I would be willing to guess that within the next few years, the often maligned End User License Agreement ('EULA') may fall into the realm of being regulated as further 'consumer protection.' Is it necessary? ... The first and most common method [of consumer protection] is what is known as a 'plain language requirement.' The idea is that contracts written by lawyers are full of legal terms and are written in such a way that it takes a lawyer to decipher the actual meaning of all of the clauses. ... on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, it could be required that companies abandon EULA contracts all together in favor of a collection of FTC approved bullet points. The development and legal communities would, I assume, vehemently oppose this idea, but it is possible. Basically, the FTC would come up with a list of things all EULAs include, then a list of optional provisions that the licensor (the game company) could include."
It *is* consumer protection (Score:5, Funny)
it was never meant to be 'consumer protection'
Of course it was. It always ways. The EULA is there to protect the corporation from its consumers.
Hidden clauses? (Score:5, Funny)
Soon EULAs and mail hoaxes will be impossible to distinguish.
By having read the above paragraph, you agree to send your fist male son to our slave mines in Burundi. You also implicitly declare that all your bases are belong to us.
If you don't agree with our user agreement, you have to immediately send the product back to our factories, located in the third moon of planet XN-24-Pu3d. Failure to do so in the next five seconds may result in your incarceration and, possibly, sudden death.
Re:This isn't news (Score:2, Funny)
nope.. just first time I actually RTFA...
Protection explained (Score:5, Funny)
The EULA is there to protect the corporation from its consumers.
Think of it as a corporate condom. It enables the corporation to screw its customers without worrying about the consequences.