A businessman used an online forex trading platform and lost money. He claimed that he did not understand the terms of use when he clicked the “I Agree” button and therefore there is no binding agreement between the parties.
The Court held that when a party signs an agreement it is presumed that he read, understood and agreed to its content. An online signature will have the same meaning as signing an agreement on a written document provided that the signatory was aware of the conditions for which he signed and read them prior to the signature. In the event that a person signed an online agreement where all conditions were visible to him and he actively agreed to them a binging agreement exists. Even where not all the terms of the agreement were visible (such as in the case of an attached link) signing on them may be deemed to be a binding agreement if the link was accessible and clear. For this reason, because the terms of agreement between the two parties were clear and the claimant clicked the “I Agree” button before commencing the engagement between the parties, the Court dismissed the claim.