Careful with emojis

Like any means of human communication, short message service, or more popularly known as text messaging, has unique or distinct features.

One of those is the emoji or “a pictogram logogram or smiley embedded in a text and used in electronic messages and web pages.” It conveys the sender’s sentiments or thoughts about his or her message that cannot otherwise be expressed in writing.

For the younger set, emojis are a convenient way to liven up their text conversations. The funnier or more imaginative, the better.

In light of a recent decision by a court in Canada, emojis may no longer be treated as mere digital symbols or figures that can be used or played around with in casual communications.

The case involves a grains buyer who sent a text message to the farmers of a certain region offering to buy their flax seeds (a fiber crop) at a certain price per bushel.

A farmer who received that message replied with a “thumbs up” emoji without any accompanying message. When the farmer refused to deliver the flax seeds at the stated price, the buyer sued him for breach of contract. The farmer argued he was not at fault because no formal contract had been entered into between them.

The court decided in favor of the buyer and ordered the farmer to pay him damages. It said the “thumbs up” emoji is as valid as a signature and that courts “need to adapt to the ‘new reality’ of how people communicate.”

Based on its rationale, the decision may similarly apply to the “okay,” “yes” and “approved” emojis or other similar digital symbols, including “memes” (or images, videos or text that are typically humorous in character), that indicate or imply the sender’s agreement with or consent to the subject of the text message. Those modern day visual creations carry meanings that are generally understood by or known to people who treat their mobile phones and other gizmos as indispensable parts of their daily lives.

The court’s ruling is food for thought as to its applicability to the Philippines on account of the immense popularity of text messaging among Filipinos which has earned the country the reputation as “the text capital of the world” where the average cell phone user reportedly sends an average of 20 text messages a day.

Thanks to the gregarious nature of Filipinos, that volume exponentially increases during the holiday season. And the telecom companies cannot be any happier about that talkative mood. The ruling of the Canadian court could get a receptive ear in our legal system because our Civil Code states that “contracts shall be obligatory, in whatever form they may have been entered into, provided all the essential requisites for their validity are present.”

Meaning, if the elements of a contract, i.e., consent of the parties, subject matter and cause of the obligation, are all present, its parties are obliged to comply with its terms and conditions regardless of the manner it was reached (and this includes verbal or “hand shake” contracts) unless the law requires that it be prepared in a certain manner to ensure its validity or enforceability.

Although decisions of foreign courts do not apply to the Philippines, they often have a persuasive effect on our courts if, for example, they tend to fill up gray areas in our laws or provide guidance on the resolution of novel legal issues, such as the emoji-related case earlier mentioned.

Considering the virtual addiction of many Filipinos to text messaging in their personal, professional and business activities, it is not far-fetched that a case similar to that in Canada may be filed in our courts.

Note that the laws on contracts in Canada and the Philippines are substantially similar in character and procedure.

There is no dearth of copycats or grandstanding lawyers in our midst who may want to earn the distinction of being the first lawyer to win a damage suit based on the improper use of digital symbols or figures.

So, be careful about posting emojis or memes in your text messages because you never know when it may be used against you by some unscrupulous people. INQ

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