Re: Steam Backs Down From Forced Arbitration

On 28/09/2024 01:32, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

     [Fortunately, in many civilized --read, outside the USA--
      jurisdictions, forced arbitration is either illegal or
      greatly restricted. So if you're in the UK, Australia
      or many countries of the EU, any EULAs either won't have
      any forced arbitration clauses, or if they do, those
      clauses are unenforceable]

I did read about these rules in relation to Disney trying to claim that as a husband had signed to to Disney+ many years ago he couldn't take them to court after she died when they visited Disney World. My first thought was, that's not a good look you're putting forward there Disney and my second thought was, heh you can force people to go to arbitration, how is that even legal.
In the UK my understanding is that arbitration courts exist* but they can only be used for a civil offences if both parties agree including who will be the arbitrator. Overall it seems like a good idea as I think a lot of reasoning was to stop expensive legal bills being racked up in the likes of divorce cases or as papers love to print, something about a house boundary dispute involving hedges.
So for Steam, I think it's good that they are going to get rid of that clause even if it's for the wrong reasons.
*That's what's normally brought up by people claiming that Sharia Law Courts exist in the UK normally followed by London is under Muslim control.