23andMe just sent out an email trying to trick customers into accepting a TOS change that will prevent you from suing them after they literally lost your genome ro thieves.
Do what it says in the email and email arbitrationoptout@23andme.com that you do not agree with the new terms of service and opt out of arbitration.
If you have an account with them, do this right now.
Here’s an email template for what to write: https://www.patreon.com/posts/94164861
I’m not sure if lawyers think their words are magic sometimes, or if they’d just really like them to be magic.
I live in a state that prohibits most non-competes from employers, and any effort to try to get employees to sign overly restrictive agreements can actually result in a fine and penalty. My company sent me a legal agreement saying that by signing the doc and continuing to be employed, I agree to waive my state’s protections against non-competes. As if… that would hold up in any court, ever.
It’s a blatantly illegal clause and I could have fought it at the time… but in the end I knew it was totally unenforceable at worst. I’ll go after them for the penalty if they ever try to enforce it, or if I leave under bad circumstances. It was more valuable to me to have this document than it is for them to have it.
They want us to believe their words are magic for 2 reasons:
They make a lot of money and they want that gravy train to keep chugging
The average person is scared by lots of big sounding words, and the evidence of that is everywhere.
The average person is scared of massive lawyer fees trying to defend against any law suit.
See reason 1. But yes.