Emojis Are Good for Expressing Our Emotions, BUT...: Find Out Why A Thumbs-Up Sticker Forces A Farmer to Pay Rs 60 lakh

Emoji: We may now communicate emotions, activities, objects, and thoughts by using emojis, which have become an essential aspect of modern communication. Emojis are now almost exclusively used in all types of communication, including social media postings, text messages, emails, and even online learning. While many people do not give much care to sending an emoji, a Canadian farmer was fined Rs 60 lakh for using the same small digital image without a clear understanding.

Emoji: Think Before Sending 

A Canadian court fined Chris Achter, a farmer in Saskatchewan, Rs 50,88,893 for using the thumbs-up emoji in response to a contract that the buyer received over a text message. As per the media claims, Achter was negotiating a deal with a buyer who was interested in buying 86 tons of flax for $12.73 per bushel. The buyer called Achter, who then sent him a picture of a contract for the delivery of the flax in November and requested that he verify it. Achter replied to the message with a thumbs-up emoji, which the buyer interpreted as agreement to the terms of the deal. Achther, however, had not fulfilled the contract's pledge to supply any flax until months later. When the buyer got in touch with Achter, he claimed that he had sent an emoji of a thumbs-up to show that he had received the contract image. He added that his thumbs-up was not meant to serve as acceptance or his signature.

Case Brought Before A Judge

Later, the case was brought before a judge to be resolved. The buyer claimed that Achter had broken the terms of the agreement during the hearing, and they provided evidence for their claim by releasing a snapshot of the exchange. Achter clarified that the emoji he used in the text message just indicated that he had received the contract and declined to offer any confirmation of the contract. The judge decided in favor of the buyer after listening to all sides, citing the fact that the thumbs-up emoji is frequently used to express approval. The judge supplied more evidence in support of this claim by citing Dictionary.com's description of the thumbs-up emoji. Emojis are symbols that are used in digital communication to convey agreement, approval, or encouragement, according to the definition.

Justice Keene said that while a signature is a customary way to verify someone's identification, more recent techniques like emojis can also do the same thing. The judge observed that, notwithstanding its unconventionality, a thumbs-up emoji might nonetheless serve the two main purposes of a signature, namely to identify the signer and to convey acceptance of the contract. In this particular instance, the signatory's cell phone number allowed for identification. The thumbs-up emoji, which came from Chris and his special cell phone, in my judgment, satisfied the signature requirement, the court added, according to Reuters. Chris Achter, the farmer, was consequently fined around Rs 60 Lakh for breaching the terms of the flax contract with the buyer.