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Originally Posted by DumberThanPaint
So we've got the authoritarians who scream loudly that corporations have every right whatsoever because they are only doing what an ordinary person would do. Of course, they blithely ignore the fact that a) this isn't a person we're dealing with and b) contract law doesn't quite work that way.
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Are Cynthetiq and I the authoritarians here? I'm genuinely curious.
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What we've got here is a contract issue plain and simple. In a day to day contract, say I hire a contractor to paint my rooms. He does a shitty job on one of them. I say directly in his face or make a web page saying "contractor did a shitty job painting my room." Can he refuse to perform? Sure, but then he's in breach of contract.
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Actually, he's not in breach of contract as described above. He's performed the job. Unless you've written a performance clause into the contract, which won't be there if you signed his, you may not have any cause of action unless he damaged your property, etc.
If, for instance, you asked for a change order that required him (Contractor X) to paint "Contractor X does bad work" on the outside of your house, and he didn't comply, I doubt you'd have any grounds for action either. And that's a part of what this is about.
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So we've got a slick, multibillion dollar corporation that's wised up to the fact people like to complain about crappy service. So they stick a clause into the contract, called an "adhesion contract", because by its very nature its terms are not bargained for. You sign it or reject it, no ifs ands or buts. So I post a website "ATTreallysucks.com" and they cancel my service. Are they in breach too? Dunno. But the judge is going to look very carefully at that clause and determine (using special scrutiny) whether the term would be outside of the reasonable expectations of the purchaser.
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While that's true, it still has nothing to do with First Amendment rights. It's contract law, pure and simple. It all depends on the situation. If AT&T asks to cancel their service to provide you with internet to access your website abouve, then I don't know which way the judge would lean. It would be interesting. If they want to cancel your phone service for that website, I see that as a separate issue and doubt the cancellation could necessarily be upheld.