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Ask HN: Is it actually necessary to make users "accept your terms" at signup?

9 points by brandonhsiao ↗ HN
Nowadays it's (thank God) becoming standard practice to make forms as short as possible. However, I still see signup forms that make users "accept the terms and conditions." Is this necessary? Will you get sued for infinite amounts of money if you don't include this? Is it worth making the user click an extra time?

8 comments

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nemasu
Hmm, I think even if whoever is suing you doesn't win, the costs involved defending yourself are high enough for people to just include the terms and services information.
_xhok
Oh I mean, it's totally worth it to include terms on your website. But must it be in the signup form?
ihatehandles
Yes it must. So that you can point and remind the customer of their legal defeat. I think @inaccessible suggested a subtle way of doing it
dangrossman
If you don't make the user take some affirmative action to show they acknowledge your terms, you may not be able to enforce the agreement in court. That's why companies make you check off a box or click a button. An inconspicuous link in the footer of your site does not necessarily create any binding agreement.

https://www.eff.org/wp/clicks-bind-ways-users-agree-online-t...

inaccessible
You don't necessarily need a checkbox for this. Just place a text that says something like "By clicking on the 'Signup' button you agree to our Terms of service and whatnot". This is what facebook is uses, and twitter, and many other service.
dorfuss
Depends on the country you're based in.

In the EU, where the market is heavily regulated and favours consumers over entrepreneurs, it could be an offence against Consumer Rights.

Therefore you could be penalised if a consumers organisation finds out and reports to the authorities that you have not included "Terms and Conditions" on your website or that your T&C contains parts that are agains the Civil Code or legal rules (for instance you must allow your customers to file formal complaints about your product or to withdraw the purchase order).

The same is true for information about cookies and privacy. Be very careful as fines could be very severe for a startup or private individual.

danieltillett
This is actually a really good question. Does anyone know of any business that has been sued because they did not have a "accept the terms and conditions" checkbox on their website?
bmelton
Perhaps a better question is what companies have been sued that could have gone to arbitration instead?

Most of the EULAs I've seen involved in these sorts of clickthroughs hold the manufacturers blameless, and render lawsuits moot, as they contain an arbitration clause[1].

[1] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbitration_clause