After using an emoji in a text message about a contract, a Canadian farmer was told to pay a fine of $61,610, or Rs 50,88,893.
The round face emoticons are used to summarise words without entering text or to convey emotions and voice tones in text-based communication. People frequently send emojis without giving them much attention, but utilising the same tiny digital image without a clear meaning led to a Canadian farmer being fined Rs 60 lakh.
Chris Achter, a farmer in Saskatchewan, Canada was fined $61,610 roughly Rs 50,88,893 by a Canadian court for using the thumbs-up emoji to a contract received by the buyer over a text message.
The article claims that Achter was negotiating a deal with a buyer who was interested in buying 86 tonnes of flax for $12.73 per bushel. The buyer called Achter, who then sent him a picture of a contract for the delivery of the flax in November and requested him to verify it. Achter replied to the message with a thumbs-up emoji, which the buyer interpreted as agreement to the terms of the deal.
However, months later, Achther had not supplied any flax as promised in the deal. When the buyer got in touch with Achter, he claimed that he had sent an emoji of a thumbs-up to show that he had received the contract image. He added that his thumbs-up was not meant to serve as acceptance or his signature.
Later, the case was brought before a judge to be resolved. The buyer claimed that Achter had broken the terms of the agreement during the hearing, and they provided evidence for their claim by releasing a snapshot of the exchange. Achter clarified that the emoji he gave in the text message just indicated that he had received the contract and declined to offer any confirmation of the contract.
The judge decided in favour of the buyer after listening to all sides, citing the fact that the thumbs-up emoji is frequently used to express approval. The justice supplied more evidence in support of this claim by citing Dictionary.com’s description of the thumbs-up emoji. According to the dictionary, emojis are used to express agreement, approval, or encouragement in digital communication.
Justice Keene said that while a signature is a customary way to verify someone’s identification, more recent techniques like emojis can also do the same thing. The judge observed that, notwithstanding its unconventionality, a thumbs-up emoji might nonetheless serve the two main purposes of a signature, namely to identify the signer and to convey acceptance of the contract. In this specific situation, the signature was recognised by their cell phone number.
According to the court, who was quoted by Reuters, “the thumbs-up emoji originated from Chris and his unique cell phone in my opinion the signature requirement was met.” Consequently, the farmer, Chris Achter was compelled to pay C$82,000 ($61,610; ã48,310) for failing to fulfil the contract of flax to the buyer.
