{"id":14671,"date":"2025-09-06T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/?p=14671"},"modified":"2025-09-04T14:20:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T12:20:20","slug":"emoji-and-law-can-a-emoji-sign-a-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/emoji-and-law-can-a-emoji-sign-a-contract\/","title":{"rendered":"He Replied with a Thumbs-Up. That Mistake Cost Him $61,000"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Communication in the Digital Age<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The internet has reshaped how we communicate. Emojis\u2014small pictograms showing faces, gestures, animals, plants, or objects\u2014have become a staple of online interaction since the early 2000s. In chats, where nonverbal cues are missing, they help convey tone and emotion. Emojis matter to us\u2014and the law has started to take them seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Professor Jennifer McKay from the University of South Australia, an expert in business law, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unisa.edu.au\/connect\/enterprise-magazine\/articles\/2025\/could-you-accidentally-sign-a-contract-by-texting-an-emoji-heres-what-the-law-says\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">points out<\/a> that <strong>in recent years emojis have appeared in at least 240 legal cases<\/strong> in Australia alone. And it\u2019s not just there. A Canadian case from 2023 made headlines worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In that case, businessman Kent Mickleborough contacted farmer Chris Achter to buy flax. Mickleborough sent a contract via message. Achter <strong>replied with a \ud83d\udc4d emoji<\/strong>. The deal never went through\u2014Achter refused to sell at the proposed price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em><strong>You might like to read<\/strong>:<\/em><\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/toxic-flaunting-why-we-buy-what-we-dont-need\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bet Everything to Show Off: The Dangers of Toxic Flaunting<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Emoji as a Legal Signature<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagine Achter\u2019s shock when <strong>he was sued for breaching the contract<\/strong>. Mickleborough argued that the thumbs-up served as a signature, citing past instances where such responses led to valid agreements. Achter countered that <strong>it was only a receipt confirmation, not acceptance of terms<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The court saw it differently. Achter was ordered to pay nearly $61,500. Judge Timothy Keene admitted that an emoji is an unusual form of agreement, but added that the court \u201ccannot (and should not) try to stop the flow of technology and the widespread use of emojis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The case reached its conclusion in July 2025, when Canada\u2019s Supreme Court dismissed Achter\u2019s appeal. The ruling is now final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Legal Weight of Emojis<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Professor McKay notes another example: a four-year dispute between two British shipping companies over a failed oil tanker charter. While no contract was signed via emoji, WhatsApp messages with emoticons appeared in the evidence. The court ruled that such <strong>digital exchanges can carry as much legal weight as formal documents or emails<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her advice: <strong>in business contexts, be careful with emojis<\/strong>. Don\u2019t rely solely on them\u2014write at least a few words (\u201cI\u2019ll confirm tomorrow,\u201d \u201cI\u2019ll review the contract\u201d). She<strong> warns against using the handshake emoji in particular<\/strong>. A thumbs-up may mean acknowledgment or agreement depending on context, but a handshake almost always signals acceptance of terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Read the original article:<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/emoji-a-prawo-czy-lajkiem-mozna-podpisac-umowe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Odpowiedzia\u0142 kciukiem w\u00a0g\u00f3r\u0119. Ten b\u0142\u0105d kosztowa\u0142 go\u00a061 tys. dolar\u00f3w<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you know what your thumbs-up emoji really means? You may think it\u2019s just a casual \u201cOK\u201d or \u201cGot it.\u201d But for a court, it can be the equivalent of signing a contract worth tens of thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":275,"featured_media":14672,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[1695,1692,1696,1693,1697,1694],"class_list":["post-14671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-truth-and-goodness","tag-digital-communication-in-court","tag-emoji-and-law","tag-emoji-in-business-deals","tag-legal-meaning-of-emojis","tag-online-contracts-and-law","tag-thumbs-up-emoji-contract"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Emoji and law: can a \ud83d\udc4d sign a contract?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Courts now treat emojis seriously. 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A thumbs-up cost one farmer $61K\u2014raising questions about the legal weight of emoji in business deals.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/emoji-and-law-can-a-emoji-sign-a-contract\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Holistic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/portalHolisticNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-06T06:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/emoji-and-law.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Maciej Bartusik\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@news_holistic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@news_holistic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Maciej Bartusik\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/emoji-and-law-can-a-emoji-sign-a-contract\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/emoji-and-law-can-a-emoji-sign-a-contract\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Maciej Bartusik\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/holistic.news\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0758fb0cf338b71ce51e2da415bc266c\"},\"headline\":\"He Replied with a Thumbs-Up. 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