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A thread on the EDS Registry, PEER Registry Platform EULA, and mandatory arbitration that is not legal advice and I am not a lawyer.
In order to apply for the HEDGE Study, you must first register in the EDS Registry via @TheEDSociety. As part of that registration process, you must agree to the PEER End User License Agreement (EULA). 2/
That legal agreement includes Privacy Access, Inc., a corporation in California providing the website and application technology for PEER. 3/
The company running the PEER website, Private Access, Inc., trademarked the phrase “Creating an environment of trust”. That’s a….choice. 4/
Folks, the fine print on this release needs reading before you agree. This EULA includes a mandatory, or “forced” arbitration clause. It’s standard language. However, if you aren’t familiar with arbitration in the US, it is Not Helpful to Consumers. https://www.consumeradvocates.org/for-consumers/arbitration 5/
In this clause, if you believe you have a reason to sue YOU CANNOT. End of discussion. 6/
You may instead participate in one final and binding arbitration hearing administered by a private, third-party organization called American Arbitration Association. As their own website states, their role is to save their client money. (You aren’t the client.) 7/
This arbitration hearing MUST happen in Orange County, California and you must travel there. You must pay for your own legal counsel, and half the fees for the arbitration hearing itself. Unlike a judicial hearing, you can’t include these in the settlement. Don't be poor. 9/
And like most forced arbitration, the clause in this PEER EULA also removes your ability to join together in class action proceedings. This is why civil rights groups consider forced arbitration discriminatory and unfair. https://www.citizen.org/article/mandatory-arbitration-clauses-are-discriminatory-and-unfair/ 10/
The Limitation of Liability section in the EULA is also notable. This states Private Access, Inc., cannot be held responsible for the actions (or lack of actions) of 3rd Parties that you give access to our data via your privacy settings. This includes http://Face2gene.com 11/
This is problematic because virtually everyone involved with Face2Gene, including researchers, acknowledge its potential for abuse. And if you want to sue Face2Gene, you gotta get yourself to a court in the British Virgin Islands. 12/
Reminder: This is not legal advice. I am not a lawyer. I’m someone who got tired of being told “If BLANK really happened, you could sue them.” No. No you cannot just “sue them.” @Asher_Wolf @t7_linda @allylovespono @rollwthepunches Please share. /end
