"Liking" a Brand or Site May Remove Your Consumer Rights

[engine]

This is taking things a little too far, imho, and it really could turn into a very negative issue. Nobody will want to "like" anything if they are found to be agreeing to terms and conditions.

Might downloading a 50-cent coupon for Cheerios cost you legal rights?

General Mills, the maker of cereals like Cheerios and Chex as well as brands like Bisquick and Betty Crocker, has quietly added language to its website to alert consumers that they give up their right to sue the company if they download coupons, “join” it in online communities like Facebook, enter a company-sponsored sweepstakes or contest or interact with it in a variety of other ways.

Instead, anyone who has received anything that could be construed as a benefit and who then has a dispute with the company over its products will have to use informal negotiation via email or go through arbitration to seek relief, according to the new terms posted on its site.

In language added on Tuesday after The New York Times contacted it about the changes, General Mills seemed to go even further, suggesting that buying its products would bind consumers to those terms."Liking" a Brand or Site May Remove Your Consumer Rights [nytimes.com]

[tbear]

That seems unreasonable, to me.
That said, I would think that it would be considered the same in a courtroom, and so, ignored, but, I'm no legal eagle.
They are saying that if you buy something, you wave your rights as a buyer........ I don't think so....

[LifeinAsia]

So basically:
- If you don't use their products, you probably don't need to sue them.
- If you do use their products, you don't have the tight to sue them.

They can add what they like. Whether it stands up in court is a completely different issue.

[piatkow]

Also depends where you are. In some jurisdictions "consumer rights" cannot be waived.

[lucy24]

Where I live, there's a bit of boilerplate that shows up periodically in the civil code. The formula is "contracts for such-and-such are contrary to public policy and will not be enforced".

An awful lot will depend on the individual judges who hear the early cases, since that's where you establish precedent. It may or may not be to your advantage to get a judge who is afraid of the internet.