Read The Fine Print Before ‘Liking’ A Facebook Business Page

Spoonful_of_cerealIt begins innocently enough; as you’re enjoying your morning cereal and scanning Facebook, you go to the cereal company’s Facebook page to see if there are any coupons. They prompt you to “like” the page, which you do. You expect that you’ll be notified of some special offers and maybe even some freebies. What you probably don’t expect is that you’re signing away your right to sue.

By now, you may know that arbitration is the oligarchs’ answer to avoiding the (even too balanced for them) justice system. Cell phone companies and credit card companies are notorious for having fine print in their contracts which says that you have no right to sue ?- that you can only use arbitration. The catch is, they hire the arbitrators who pretty much always rule in the company’s favor. Is this legal? According to the Supreme Court, yes. Now, even companies like General Mills are hopping on that bandwagon. If you “like” their Facebook page or even buy a product with a coupon, you might be forfeiting your access to the justice system.

The New York Times discovered the tiny change to the top of General Mills’ home page, which notified customers of a change in privacy and legal terms. When you click on the “legal terms” link, you find wording like this:

These terms are a binding legal agreement (?Agreement?) between you and General Mills.? In exchange for the benefits, discounts, content, features, services, or other offerings that you receive or have access to by using our websites, joining our sites as a member, joining our online community, subscribing to our email newsletters, downloading or printing a digital coupon, entering a sweepstakes or contest, redeeming a promotional offer, or otherwise participating in any other General Mills offering, you are agreeing to these terms.

ANY DISPUTE OR CLAIM MADE BY YOU AGAINST GENERAL MILLS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR YOUR PURCHASE OR USE OF ANY GENERAL MILLS SERVICE OR PRODUCT (INCLUDING GENERAL MILLS PRODUCTS PURCHASED AT ONLINE OR PHYSICAL STORES FOR PERSONAL OR HOUSEHOLD USE) REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH DISPUTE OR CLAIM IS BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, STATUTE, FRAUD, MISREPRESENTATION, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY (TOGETHER, A ?DISPUTE?) WILL BE RESOLVED BY INFORMAL NEGOTIATIONS OR THROUGH BINDING ARBITRATION, AS DESCRIBED BELOW.

In case you want to “unlike” their page, that’s not good enough. You won’t get your rights back till you send the company an email with your full name and your birth year (data mining?).

General Mills products aren’t just in the cereal aisle, either. They are pretty much ubiquitous throughout the store, with brands like: Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Yoplait, Nature Valley, Old El Paso, Progresso, Hamburger Helper, Toaster Strudel, Gold Medal, Bisquick, Totino’s and several cereals. Here’s a full list of their products.

Why did General Mills change the terms? Well, because they were sued, of course. Last year, a court ordered them to pay $8.5 million for making deceptive health claims on its Yoplait Yo-Plus yogurt. Not only would this change in legal policy protect the company from suits like that, it would also protect them in cases where they might send their customers to the hospital or worse. If, for example, they falsely labeled a product as not having common allergens, an allergic person would have no legal standing. If General Mills accidentally included rat poison in its cereal, caveat emptor (buyer beware).

While it’s doubtful that most mom and pop establishments have the legal team or the resources to enforce such a clause, it’s not just mega-conglomerates that are trying to shed potential liability. Texas’ Whataburger franchise has posted a notice at all of their front doors that says that just by entering the establishment, you are eliminating your right to sue. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t give me a lot of confidence in their sanitary practices.