Smartwool adds forced arbitration to EULA: Difference between revisions

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 [[File:Smartwool Email.png|thumb|Smartwool email advising consumers of changes to arbitration agreement and process for sending USPS Priority Mail or hand delivery within 30 days.]]
-On March 29, 2024, '''[[Smartwool]]''' emailed customers in their database, automatically opting them in to their new terms of use. These new terms of use contained a forced arbitration clause and were unreasonably difficult to opt-out of.
+On March 29, 2024, '''[[Smartwool]]''' emailed customers in their database, automatically opting them in to their new terms of use. These new terms of use contain a forced arbitration clause that requires significant effort to opt-out of.
 ==Background==
-Smartwool is an American clothing company specializing in the sale of wool clothing. The incident described in this article is a example of[[Post-purchase EULA modification| post-purchase EULA (End User License Agreement) modification]] (colloquially referred to as "EULA roofieing") that includes a revised [[Forced arbitration|forced arbitration clause]]. To illustrate the magnitude of risk posed by a clothing-related EULA, one can imagine a less responsible company accidentally including toxic dyes or coatings due to supply chain mishaps. In such a case they might avoid paying damages to the harmed consumers.
+Smartwool is an American clothing company specializing in the sale of wool clothing. The incident described in this article is a example of[[Post-purchase EULA modification| post-purchase EULA (End User License Agreement) modification]] <!-- "(colloquially referred to as "EULA roofieing")" - emphasis colloquially - probably means this isn't Wiki-suitable --> that includes a revised [[Forced arbitration|forced arbitration clause]]. Usually associated with software license agreements, an example of why a clothing company would want to do this is is to avoid paying damages through court when their clothing is defective or containing dyes toxic to human skin.
-This instance of post-purchase EULA modification is an example of the strategic use of asymmetry. The business delivered their opt-in notice in an inexpensive, unexpected, and casual nature. The consumer has to do absolutely nothing to opt-in, and in fact can be opted-in without having read the email at all. Opting out is difficult, tedious, and relatively expensive.
+In the updated terms, opting out of forced arbitration has been made more involved than before.
 ==Post-purchase EULA Modification==
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 |url-status=live
 |access-date=19 Feb 2025
-}}</ref>, and to opt out, they were required to send a letter through USPS Priority Mail. So, in addition to being a post-purchase action, the customers were opted in via email and could not simply reply to the email to opt out.<ref>
+}}</ref>, and to opt out, they were required to send a letter "via USPS Priority Mail". Customers could not simply reply to the email to opt out.<ref>
 {{cite web
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 |archive-date=4 April 2024
 |access-date=19 Feb 2025
-}}</ref>
+}}</ref> Priority Mail costs more than First Class mail<ref>
-This requirement is in itself more involved than the process of opting in. Additionally, USPS Priority is not the First Class mail that people typically use for mailing letters. This (seemingly minor) difference in mail type is the difference between a $0.56 postcard and a $10.10 Flat Rate Envelope at the time of writing<ref>
 {{cite web
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 |url-status=live
 |access-date=19 Feb 2025
-}}</ref>, which preys on an individual's reasoning that the effort involved in attempting to opt-out is not worth the time or money.
+}}</ref> that someone would commonly use to send such a letter.{{CitationNeeded}} <!-- This section was (re)written by a non-US person that has never used USPS. May be lacking so adding CitationNeeded to be safe -->
 ===Differences Between Pre-purchase and Post-purchase EULA===
-According to the EULA available before the opt-in wave of emails, the original EULA<ref>
+The original EULA before the wave of emails<ref>
 {{cite web
 |author=<!--not cited-->