Halifax locals concerned with streaming service fine print after Disney lawsuit gains international attention

A sign near one of the entrances to Disney Springs is seen May 18, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/(John Raoux, file)

Some Halifax locals will be reading the fine print in their streaming service contracts after a lawsuit in Florida has gained international attention.

The case in Florida was filed by a man against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts following the death of his wife last October. His wife suffered an allergic reaction while dining at a restaurant in Disney Springs, which is owned by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, and he is now learning he may have waived his right to a lawsuit when signing up for Disney+ five years ago.

“In my line of work, I have terms of agreements that I have to read in relation to projects, but if it’s something in my personal life, I normally wouldn’t,” said Brendon Hawes, a Halifax local.

He said when using social media or signing up for a streaming service, he would not pay too much attention to the fine print.

The lawsuit filed by Jeffrey Piccolo raised concerns after Disney asked Florida court to dismiss the lawsuit, stating that when Piccolo signed up for a Disney+ trial in 2019, he agreed to resolve disputes with Disney through arbitration, effectively waiving his rights to class-action lawsuit.

“At the end of the day you’re only agreeing to what is reasonable and what is informed to you,” said another local, Juan Chaves. “I feel like something as far removed as dying because of allergy reaction because you didn’t read the terms of agreement to Disney+ doesn’t make sense, and it’s not a risk that you might be thinking when you sign up for a platform like that.”

The judge in Florida has yet to make a decision on Disney’s request.

“The judge will have to look at whether this family is fairly bound by the terms of service for the Disney+ streaming service, and having to waive their rights to a jury trial for the death that occurred through the service of food at this restaurant,” said Chris Melcher, a legal analyst in Los Angeles.

Melcher does not believe this will legally work in Disney’s favour.

“I think that the judge is going to say that these things are too unrelated to say that a right to a jury trial has been waived by clicking off on a terms of service for a streaming service.”

Experts say this type of situation can happen in Canada in other ways.

“We’re seeing more and more and terms of services updated on the fly to include surrendering of rights to give your data to train AI systems that may or may not be in your best interest,” said security expert David Shipley.

Shipley said Canada needs to do more to protect people.

“Privacy remains stalled in Parliament. Bill C-27 also had agreement about what privacy should look like based on things done in Europe and California. It’s now stuck in the much of the parliamentary process.”

While it isn’t happening in Canada, experts say people still need to be vigilant and advocate for regulations here as well so they’re not signing their rights away.

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