Comment on Thomas 🔭✨ (@thomasfuchs@hachyderm.io) 23andMe just sent out an email trying to trick customers into accepting a TOS change that will prevent you from suing them after they literally lost your genome

• RooPappy@kbin.social ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I'm not sure if lawyers think their words are magic sometimes, or if they'd just really like them to be magic.

  I live in a state that prohibits most non-competes from employers, and any effort to try to get employees to sign overly restrictive agreements can actually result in a fine and penalty. My company sent me a legal agreement saying that by signing the doc and continuing to be employed, I agree to waive my state's protections against non-competes. As if... that would hold up in any court, ever.

  It's a blatantly illegal clause and I could have fought it at the time... but in the end I knew it was totally unenforceable at worst. I'll go after them for the penalty if they ever try to enforce it, or if I leave under bad circumstances. It was more valuable to me to have this document than it is for them to have it.

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  • Patches@sh.itjust.works ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    They want us to believe their words are magic for 2 reasons

    1. They make a lot of money and they want that gravy train to keep chugging
    2. The average person is scared by lots of big sounding words, and the evidence of that is everywhere.

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    • mx_smith@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      The average person is scared of massive lawyer fees trying to defend against any law suit.

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      • Patches@sh.itjust.works ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        See reason 1. But yes.

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• Siddhartha-Aurelius@kbin.social ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  You’re right. I just want to add the proper terms for people to search for in case this information helps them. The main matters considered in contract law are “consideration and performance”. Happy hunting y’all. Take down these corporations that do not care for you.

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  • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Yes, payment isn’t necessary, it’s just that consideration is payment 99% of the time for the average Joe, to the point where the first definition of consideration is “payment or money” but there are certainly contracts out there where it isn’t money.

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    • Siddhartha-Aurelius@kbin.social ⁨9⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      You’re right. I only wanted to include the search term for anyone wanting to pursue this on their own. I think it is better to search the proper term and build knowledge from there than to summarize it and hope laymen understand the underlying principles.

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