the practice of enforcing a legally binding agreement on a customer without explicit informed consent or done so with hopes of the terms being bypassed or neglected (and ultimately unknown), most often enacted by corporations who actively lobby against consumer rights.
examples:
- changing the terms of the agreement at a point in time after the initial exchange
- dark patterns set up to mislead the customer, confuse them, waste their time (stalling) or lie to them
- a forced arbitration clause on page 69 of the end-user license agreement stapled to the inside of the refrigerator packaging cardboard box which the customer will never come in contact with
- charging the customer for services which they have not received, charging hidden fees, or charging cancellation fees
- automatic contract renewal without consent or confirmation
- assume that the customer accepts the new terms if they don't respond immediately respond
- make it extremely difficult or impossible for the customer to disagree, refuse, deny or cancel
- take maximum advantage of the customer as much as allowed by hidden clauses and loopholes in laws and regulation
- sharing private and highly-sensitive personal customer data with "1281 vendors/our advertising partners", or to the general public
- avoiding all liability, responsibility engaging in scapegoating and shameless blame-shifting and steering, even if all these measures have resulted in wrongful death
- Retroactively Amended Purchase Experience
examples:
- changing the terms of the agreement at a point in time after the initial exchange
- dark patterns set up to mislead the customer, confuse them, waste their time (stalling) or lie to them
- a forced arbitration clause on page 69 of the end-user license agreement stapled to the inside of the refrigerator packaging cardboard box which the customer will never come in contact with
- charging the customer for services which they have not received, charging hidden fees, or charging cancellation fees
- automatic contract renewal without consent or confirmation
- assume that the customer accepts the new terms if they don't respond immediately respond
- make it extremely difficult or impossible for the customer to disagree, refuse, deny or cancel
- take maximum advantage of the customer as much as allowed by hidden clauses and loopholes in laws and regulation
- sharing private and highly-sensitive personal customer data with "1281 vendors/our advertising partners", or to the general public
- avoiding all liability, responsibility engaging in scapegoating and shameless blame-shifting and steering, even if all these measures have resulted in wrongful death
- Retroactively Amended Purchase Experience
hey everybody! how's it going? hope you're having a lovely day. i'm not. i'm probably not gonna have a lovely day tomorrow, for the next few weeks, and maybe the next few months. today we're going to be talking about another case of eula roofieing.
by anonymous August 15, 2024
Get the EULA roofieingmug. A cunning legal spell crafted by corporations (looking at you, Nintendo) disguised as a harmless click-through agreement, but in reality, it's a prenup you didn't know you were signing. By accepting it, you're basically handing over your digital rights, your ability to mod, and probably your firstborn, in exchange for the privilege of being nickel-and-dimed forever. When Nintendo slaps one of these on your screen, just know it's less about protecting creativity and more about squeezing every last gold coin from your nostalgia-addled wallet—because nothing says "thanks for your loyalty" like being legally forbidden from using the product in any way they didn’t explicitly charge you for.
by KalvinTheGreat May 14, 2025
Get the EULAmug. by snappyjoe February 13, 2024
Get the eulamug. the practice of enforcing a legally binding agreement on a customer without explicit informed consent or done so with hopes of the terms being bypassed or neglected (and ultimately unknown), most often enacted by corporations who actively lobby against consumer rights.
examples:
- changing the terms of the agreement at a point in time after the initial exchange
- dark patterns set up to mislead the customer, confuse them, waste their time (stalling) or lie to them
- a forced arbitration clause on page 69 of the end-user license agreement stapled to the inside of the refrigerator packaging cardboard box which the customer will never come in contact with
- charging the customer for services which they have not received, charging hidden fees, or charging cancellation fees
- automatic contract renewal without consent or confirmation
- assume that the customer accepts the new terms if they don't respond immediately respond
- make it extremely difficult or impossible for the customer to disagree, refuse, deny or cancel
- take maximum advantage of the customer as much as allowed by hidden clauses and loopholes in laws and regulation
- sharing private and highly-sensitive personal customer data with "1281 vendors/our advertising partners", or to the general public
- avoiding all liability, responsibility engaging in scapegoating and shameless blame-shifting and steering, even if all these measures have resulted in wrongful death
- Retroactively Amended Purchase Experience
examples:
- changing the terms of the agreement at a point in time after the initial exchange
- dark patterns set up to mislead the customer, confuse them, waste their time (stalling) or lie to them
- a forced arbitration clause on page 69 of the end-user license agreement stapled to the inside of the refrigerator packaging cardboard box which the customer will never come in contact with
- charging the customer for services which they have not received, charging hidden fees, or charging cancellation fees
- automatic contract renewal without consent or confirmation
- assume that the customer accepts the new terms if they don't respond immediately respond
- make it extremely difficult or impossible for the customer to disagree, refuse, deny or cancel
- take maximum advantage of the customer as much as allowed by hidden clauses and loopholes in laws and regulation
- sharing private and highly-sensitive personal customer data with "1281 vendors/our advertising partners", or to the general public
- avoiding all liability, responsibility engaging in scapegoating and shameless blame-shifting and steering, even if all these measures have resulted in wrongful death
- Retroactively Amended Purchase Experience
hey everybody! how's it going? hope you're having a lovely day. i'm not. i'm probably not gonna have a lovely day tomorrow, for the next few weeks, and maybe the next few months. today we're going to be talking about another case of eula roofieing.
by kuchesezik August 16, 2024
Get the EULA roofieingmug. A EULA (End User License Agreement) is a contract a manufacturer makes you sign before they let you buy or lease their product. Products that come with a EULA (pronounced "YOO - lah") are high-tech, big-ticket items: cars, cell phones, appliances, etc. EULAs contain do's & don't's for using a product. Violating the EULA will usually void the warranty.
A EULA is not the same as a TOS (Terms of Service Agreement). A TOS is for a service, not a physical object.
Legally, a EULA gives you permission (gives you a "license") to use the product after you buy it. Presumably, the manufacturer can "revoke" that "permission" at any time, and they will do so by remotely shutting down the product (called "bricking" your product), rendering it inoperable.
The language of a typical EULA includes "hold harmless" clauses to protect the manufacturer from lawsuits. Additionally, you will (usually) be agreeing to let the manufacturer gather personal data about you via the product. This includes your locations, shopping habits, medical information, sexual orientation, etc. A EULA will also usually dictate that you resolve disputes via arbitration (not lawsuits), and stipulate that the arbiter will be hired by the manufacturer (so the arbiter works for the manufacturer, and will do as they say).
EULAs will become more common as modern manufacturers move away from the business model of selling things, and embrace the model of leasing things. That way, "you will own nothing and be happy."
A EULA is not the same as a TOS (Terms of Service Agreement). A TOS is for a service, not a physical object.
Legally, a EULA gives you permission (gives you a "license") to use the product after you buy it. Presumably, the manufacturer can "revoke" that "permission" at any time, and they will do so by remotely shutting down the product (called "bricking" your product), rendering it inoperable.
The language of a typical EULA includes "hold harmless" clauses to protect the manufacturer from lawsuits. Additionally, you will (usually) be agreeing to let the manufacturer gather personal data about you via the product. This includes your locations, shopping habits, medical information, sexual orientation, etc. A EULA will also usually dictate that you resolve disputes via arbitration (not lawsuits), and stipulate that the arbiter will be hired by the manufacturer (so the arbiter works for the manufacturer, and will do as they say).
EULAs will become more common as modern manufacturers move away from the business model of selling things, and embrace the model of leasing things. That way, "you will own nothing and be happy."
I tries to read the EULA (End User License Agreement) that came with my new cell phone, but it was over 30 pages long, so I just gave up and signed it anyway. I hope that by signing it, I didn't agree to anything too crazy.
by Innocent Byproduct September 10, 2023
Get the EULA (End User License Agreement)mug.