By Lauren Harriman
Heads up—Dropbox just dropped a bomb during its most recent Terms of Service (TOS) and Privacy Policy update, and you need to take action! The update, which takes effect on March 24, adds an arbitration section to the TOS. If you prefer not to arbitrate, you must opt-out by completing an online form. While arbitration is a “quick and efficient way to resolve disputes,” and “provides an alternative to things like state or federal courts,” which can take “months or even years,” arbitration does not provide a record of the proceeding.
A record is crucial to developing common law. Common law is critical in an area of law, such as technology law, where legislation is severely lacking. Any Dropbox user legal complaint should have the potential to provide legal precedent for future disputes. Only complaints filed in the state and federal courts can provide that potential. Remember that arbitration means you will likely be hailed to Dropbox’s headquarters in San Francisco should you have a dispute. Dropbox users can opt-out of the arbitration clause now by signing in with their usernames and submitting their first and last names. So take a minute and opt-out of this drop-bomb.
