Steam
just
removed
its
forced
arbitration
policy,
opening
the
door
for
lawsuits
against
its
parent
company,
Valve.
In
an
update
on
Thursday,
Steam
says
its
subscriber
agreement
“now
provides
that
any
disputes
are
to
go
forward
in
court
instead
of
arbitration.”
Many
companies
include
a
forced
arbitration
clause
in
their
user
agreement,
waiving
a
person’s
right
to
a
trial
in
court.
Arbitration
involves
settling
a
dispute
outside
a
legal
system
before
an
impartial
third
party.
This
method
is
often
faster
but
may
not
get
the
best
results
for
consumers,
as
arbitrators
don’t
need
to
consider
the
law
when
issuing
a
decision.
Many
services
put
mandatory
arbitration
agreements
in
their
terms
of
service,
which
people
may
not
even
read
or
fully
understand.
Disney
recently
attempted
to
dismiss
a
wrongful
death
lawsuit
after
a
woman
died
following
an
allergic
reaction
at
one
of
its
Walt
Disney
World
resorts.
The
company
argued
that
because
the
widower
agreed
to
a
forced
arbitration
policy
when
signing
up
for
Disney
Plus,
he
didn’t
have
the
right
to
sue
(Disney
later
conceded).
Previously,
Steam’s
user
agreement
said
that
“you
and
Valve
agree
to
resolve
all
disputes
and
claims
between
us
in
individual
binding
arbitration”
for
all
disputes
related
to
Steam,
your
account,
hardware,
or
the
company’s
content
and
services.
The
new
agreement
eliminates
any
mention
of
a
binding
arbitration
policy.
Steam
doesn’t
say
why
it
decided
to
suddenly
remove
the
forced
arbitration
clause.
As
pointed
out
by
404
Media,
a
group
of
plaintiffs
recently
challenged
Valve’s
forced
arbitration
policy
and
were
able
to
file
a
class
action
lawsuit
over
Steam’s
dominance.
(Originally posted by Emma Roth)
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