New York Federal Court Affirms Enforceability Of Terms Of Service Available By Hyperlink

On January 24, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held in Fteja v. Facebook Inc., No. 11-918, 2012 WL 183896 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 24, 2012), that an experienced Internet user received adequate notice to be bound by Facebook’s Terms of Service when he pushed a button indicating his assent to the terms, which were available via a hyperlink near the button. The user had sued Facebook in New York state court for allegedly wrongly terminating his account. When Facebook removed the case to federal court and moved to transfer the action to the Northern District of California, citing the mandatory forum selection clause in its Terms of Service, the user argued that the Terms were unenforceable because he never saw or agreed to them. The court granted Facebook’s motion to transfer after finding that Facebook’s signup process “reasonably communicated” the Terms despite a second step, clicking the hyperlink, being required to view the Terms.