Canadian Judge Rules that the Thumbs-up Emoji is Legal for a Contract!

Or gives two thumbs-up!

Sending a thumbs-up emoji may now be considered the agreement of a legally binding contract, a Canadian judge has ruled.

The thumbs-up emoji proved pivotal in a case involving farmer Chris Achter of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, and a 2021 deal to sell 87 metric tons of flax to grain buyer Kent Mickleborough. Mickleborough signed the contract for the deal and texted a picture of it to Achter and wrote "Please confirm flax contract," according to court documents. Achter responded with a thumbs-up emoji.

Mickleborough considered the thumbs-up response to be an agreement between him and Achter because he included the "Please confirm flax contract" text along with the photo of the contract, according to court documents.

When Achter did not send the flax to Mickleborough, the grain buyer filed a lawsuit stating he thought Achter's thumbs-up emoji was an agreement to the contract.

Judge T.J. Keene of the Court of King's Bench in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, agreed and ruled back in early June that the thumbs-up emoji Achter sent served as an agreement to the contract. Keene ordered Achter to pay Mickleborough $82,200 in Canadian dollars.

So this begs the question, what happens when someone sends a poop emoji with a contract?