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From: JAB <noway@nochance.com>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
Subject: Re: Steam Backs Down From Forced Arbitration
Date: Mon, 30 Sep 2024 08:19:05 +0100
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On 30/09/2024 03:31, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> On 9/29/2024 1:38 AM, JAB wrote:
>> On 28/09/2024 15:35, Ross Ridge wrote:
>>> JAB  <noway@nochance.com> wrote:
>>>> 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.
>>>
>>> It the same in the US and other countries.  In this case, both parties,
>>> Valve and the Steam user, agreed to use a certain arbitration service to
>>> resolve any disputes.  That happened when the user agreed to the Steam
>>> Subscriber Agreement.
>>>
>>
>> In the UK you just can't do that in general as the principle is you 
>> can't sign away your rights just because the shop says so regardless 
>> of what you sign/agree to. There has to be a law in place that 
>> specially says you can sign away an individual right and even then it 
>> still has to met the criteria of could someone reasonable expect it. 
>> So no, burying it in ten pages of texts just doesn't work.
> 
> Well, Europe (including the UK) isn't as tightly in the grip of the 
> Mega-Corps as the US is.
> 

I remember when the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership 
(TTIP) was under negotiation and thinking what on earth are the EU even 
doing considering it. Yeh what could possibly go wrong in letting 
forgiven companies interfere in domestic government policies and laws if 
it goes against their financial interests.

It was basically a big corporations wet dream come true.