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Vonage forbids dirty talk with your wife
From: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2003 15:29:23 -0400
Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2003 11:16:50 -0700 From: Brad Templeton <brad () templetons com> Subject: Vonage forbids dirty talk with your wife To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net> Cc: jeff () pulver com Organization: http://www.templetons.com/brad I've been a reasonably satisified Vonage Voice-over-IP customer, though I think the focus too much on being just like a regular telco for my tastes. However, in looking at changing my service, I actually went and read their most recent terms of service. Here's what I found... 1.3.1 Prohibited Uses: You agree to use the Service and Device only for lawful purposes. This means that you agree not to use them for transmitting or receiving any illegal, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, obscene, sexually explicit, profane, racially or ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ethnically disparaging remarks or otherwise objectionable material of any kind, including but not limited to any material that encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to a civil liability, or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, national or international law. Vonage reserves the right to terminate your service immediately and without advance notice if Vonage, in its sole discretion, believes that you have violated the above restrictions, leaving you responsible for the full month's charges to the end of the current term, including without limitation unbilled charges, plus a disconnect fee, all of which immediately become due and payable. You are liable for any and all use of the Service and/or Device by any person making use of the Service or Device provided to you. If Vonage, in its sole discretion believes that you have violated the above restrictions, Vonage may forward the objectionable material, as well as your communications with Vonage and your personally identifiable information to the appropriate authorities for investigation and prosecution. We've gotten used to such lawyerish language in a lot of online contracts for things like web hosting and message boards that are exposed to the public. But now it's suggested that to get a phone, you should agree not to talk dirty on it, or tell ethnic jokes, or let anybody who you let use the phone do so? Give rise to a civil liability? We all do that every day. Now, I realize that Vonage has not been granted common carrier status, and may not even have applied. It's an Enhanced Services Provider. But I would hope there is something we could do about this sort of "legal creep" where EULAs forbid everything the lawyer's can think of. I'm not even sure why they want the ability to cut off your phone if you talk dirty on it. I can see them wanting to avoid any liability on themselves for your illegal actions. A simple, "You agree not to use or allow the phone to be used to violate applicable law" should have done the trick.
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- Vonage forbids dirty talk with your wife Dave Farber (Aug 21)