Twitter users turned on Disney after it appeared to claim that using the #MayThe4th hashtag constituted a contractual agreement

Palmer HaaschApr 28, 2020, 05:57 IST

Insider

Disney Plus launched in November 2019 in the United States.Disney

Disney tweeted on Monday on the Disney Plus account soliciting fans' favorite "Star Wars" memories, calling for them to share them in a thread using the #MayThe4th hashtag.
A follow-up tweet containing legal language regarding use of the hashtag sparked controversy on Twitter, and a law professor said that it was "unlikely that Disney has formed a legally enforceable contract with anybody who uses the specified hashtag."
Disney later clarified that the legal language only applied to replies to that specific tweet that both mentioned @DisneyPlus and used the #MayThe4th hashtag.
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A tweet from the Disney Plus account sparked controvery on Twitter on Monday for implying that use of the #MayThe4th hashtag implied consent to Disney's terms of use. The controversy was tied to what appears to be a fan content campaign for the release of "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" on May 4th, which is also known as "Star Wars Day" (due to the "May the 4th be with you" play on words).

In a tweet made at 10 am ET, Disney Plus called for fans to reply with their favorite "Star Wars" memory with the possibility of seeing it "somewhere special" on May 4. What caused an uproar, however, was a follow-up tweet that stated that use of the #MayThe4th hashtag implied acceptance of Disney's terms of use:

The way the second tweet is worded seems to imply that any use of the #MayThe4th hashtag constituted acceptance of Disney's terms of use and a user's consent to allow Disney to use "the message and your account name in all media." This is particularly true when taken out of the context of the first tweet.

Ann Bartow, the director of the Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property at the University of New Hampshire, said over email regarding that initial scenario, "I think it is unlikely that Disney has formed a legally enforceable contract with anybody who uses the specified hashtag even if they mention 'Disney Plus' but it is possible that a court concludes that using the hashtag could be viewed as a license or implied license to use the relevant tweet."

Disney clarified five hours later in another tweet that the legal language applied only to tweets in the specific thread that used the hashtag and mentioned Disney Plus, but Twitter users were already incensed.

Twitter's terms of service are also notably vague, stating that users agree that the license "includes the right for Twitter to provide, promote, and improve the Services and to make Content submitted to or through the Services available to other companies, organizations or individuals for the syndication, broadcast, distribution, Retweet, promotion or publication of such Content on other media and services, subject to our terms and conditions for such Content use."

"This is a very broad assertion of rights over user content and it may not be enforceable in some contexts, especially those involving third parties. The Twitter ToS is very vague; if users do not understand it, there has not been a 'meeting of the minds,'" Bartow said, referring to a concept in contract law that stipulates that formation of a contract includes agreement on the same terms, conditions, and subject matter."There are questions about whether the conditions for an enforceable contract have been met."

This kind of company behavior doesn't appear to be without precedent. According to a blog post from Sara F. Hawkins, Attorney at Law, a law firm focused on entrepreneurs and digital-focused companies, Delta updated its SkyMiles Program Rules in December 2017 with a section titled "User-Generated Social Media Image Rights." The rules stipulated that program participants would grant a "very broad license for use of your image simply by using the hashtag #SkyMilesLife and/or #DeltaMedallionLife on your social media channel."

Prior to Disney's clarification follow-up tweet (and even after), people on Twitter were frustrated with the statement, which one user said had "big imperial energy" in reference to the Star Wars matter at hand. Others began to flood the hashtag with messages that suggested a higher tolerance for Disney's legal efforts.

Disney did not immediately respond for comment.

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Twitter users turned on Disney after it appeared to claim that using the #MayThe4th hashtag constituted a contractual agreement