The Thumbs up emoji is one of the most commonly used emojis.
A farmer in Canada was fined close to Rs 50 lakh after a buyer interpreted his thumbs up emoji as agreement to contract’s terms.
Imagine sending someone a thumbs up emoji, only to lose out on close to Rs 50 lakh ($61,610). This is exactly what happened with a farmer based in Saskatchewan, Canada. The farmer was reportedly fined the huge amount after he received a contract by text message.
This came to light after Achter failed to deliver 86 tonnes of flax to buyer Kent Mickleborough in 2021—as per his accidental contract.
According to the BBC, farmer Chris Achter claimed that he sent the thumbs up emoji to confirm that he had received the contract, but his buyer misinterpreted it as a contractual agreement.
How Did It Happen?
Mickleborough sent Achter a contract document and asked him to confirm it. Achter replied with a thumbs up emoji, which Mickleborough mistakenly interpreted as Achter agreeing to the contract. This was because Achter had previously agreed to contracts via text message.
But, Achter later said that it was misinterpreted, and he “simply confirmed that I received the flax contract,” and it was “not a confirmation” of him agreeing with the terms and conditions mentioned in the contract.
Court’s Ruling
“This court readily acknowledges that a thumbs-up emoji is a non-traditional means to ‘sign’ a document,” Justice Keene, the court’s judge ruled. “But nevertheless under these circumstances this was a valid way to convey the two purposes of a ‘signature,’” he said.
This is undoubtedly a peculiar way to lose money, and it highlights how digital communication—even a simple emoji—can be used in a court of law.
