EULAs END USER LICENSE AGREEMENTS

What is a EULA?  a legal contract between a software application author or publisher and the user of that application  What does it mean?  Legally you agree to the terms of use.  This is a binding contract under the law.

How many of you have just hit Accept? Read what it says in yellow

How many of you actually read the EULA?  The average person spends 4 seconds on a EULA. That’s the amount of time it takes to find the Accept button.  95% of users admitted they clicked Accept without reading the EULA.

Snap Chat  Snapchat is a fun messaging app for sharing moments. You can take a photo or a video, then add a caption or doodle or lens, and send it to a friend or add it to your story to share with the world/your followers. Friends can view individual snaps for up to 10 seconds, and then it disappears.  Or does it?

Snap Chat’s new EULA as of October  “ To the extent it’s necessary, you also grant Snapchat and our business partners the unrestricted, worldwide, perpetual right and license to use your name, likeness, and voice in any and all media and distribution channels (now known or later developed) in connection with any Live Story or other crowd-sourced content you create, upload, post, send, or appear in. This means, among other things, that you will not be entitled to any compensation from Snapchat or our business partners if your name, likeness, or voice is conveyed through the Services.”

Loosely Translated…..  It means that those photos you took while you were on your beach vacation in Hawaii can be used by the resort, as long as it is a business partner with Snap Chat, for creating pamphlets, commercials, posters, s, etc for marketing purposes and you cannot say no, or get paid for the use of your own images or voice files.  Or, those private photos you took and posted only for your friends to see and you thought they would disappear in 10 seconds now could be used by Snap Chat and its business partners in any way they saw fit.

How would you feel if your images were used for an add campaign?  What if this was your baby picture or your sister or brothers and they do not have your consent to use it?  Discuss what privacy is and how you would feel if your image was used in an ad campaign. Are there things you have already posted to Snap Chat that you are now worried about someone using?

Let’s take look at some other EULAS: Play Name that company  “You also agree that you will not use these products for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture, or production of nuclear, missile, or chemical or biological weapons.” iTunes

 “ TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL ??, ITS SUBSIDIARIES OR ITS AFFILIATES BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY PERSONAL INJURY, PROPERTY DAMAGE, LOST PROFITS, COST OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES, LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, ……..” EA (Electronic Arts) They make video games for Wii, Xbox, and Playstation like Madden, SIMs, FIFA…. Meaning if you fight with a friend over an EA game, don’t call them for bail, or if you call in sick or late for work because of their game and get fired, you can’t sue them for lost wages.

Facebook  “…you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub- licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with (company name) (IP License).”  Hint: “When you publish content or information using the Public setting, it means that you are allowing everyone, including people off of (company name), to access and use that information, and to associate it with you (i.e., your name and profile picture).”

Did you know?  Also, if you installed and used the Facebook app on your smart phone it will give up your phone number even if you selected Private on the website. Its in the App EULA.

Google Chrome  “…you give (company name) a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the services.”  What does this mean to you?

What can you do to protect yourself?  If you are really in so big of a hurry you cannot read all EULAs, read the ones that matter. Those would be from banks and financial institutes, and any site that has access to your private information.  Use Ctrl+F (the find function on the computer) to look for words like: location, tracking, install, uninstall/removal, unlawful, pay/purchase, share/give, allow, trial, rights, personal information—while this is not fool proof but it does give you a heads up  Use EULAs as bedtime reading. The “boring” factor really comes in handy for insomniacs.

Wrap up:  EULAs are upheld in a court of law just like any other contract.  EULAs are to protect the rights of the people who make the software.  Your right to privacy as well as other rights are just as important and something you should protect.