Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The difference in understanding the meaning of an emoji has resulted in an agricultural entrepreneur named Chris Achter being fined almost IDR 1 billion. He was fined for sending a thumbs up emoji during chat.
It is known that he sent the thumbs up emoji to South West Terminal. Achter, who owns Swift Current Saskatchewan, admitted that he sent the thumbs-up emoji in response to the 2021 hemp purchase contract.
However, this emoji actually creates confusion. Because both Achter and South West Terminal have different views on this emoji. Achter said the thumbs-up emoji referenced that he had accepted the contract. But that doesn’t mean he agreed to the agreement in the contract.
Meanwhile South West Terminal thinks otherwise. The thumbs up emoji reply was interpreted as Achter having accepted the contract terms of both parties, quoted from ReutersFriday (8/9/2023).
Finally the matter ended up in court. This case is quite unique. because the trial summary is also filled with 24 examples of emoji.
Judge TJ Keene ruled the thumbs-up emoji could be interpreted as approval of the contents of the contract. He said emojis could be a replacement for Achter’s signature.
Keene also added that the case for signing with a thumbs up emoji is unique. During the trial, Achter was fined 82 thousand Canadian or around Rp. 925 million.
“I believe on the balance of probabilities Chris agreed to the contract as he did before, except this time he used a thumbs-up emoji,” Keene explained.
“In my opinion, the signature requirement is met by Chris’s thumbs up emoji and the phone is unique,” he added.
In the United States, the full moon emoji brought investor Ryan Cohen to court. The moon emoji is often used to replace the phrase “to the moon”, which is a signal that the price of shares or crypto assets will skyrocket “to the moon.”
“When people are excited [mempromosikan] stocks, they said they were going to skyrocket,” said Professor Eric Goldman, co-director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University.
Cohen posted on Twitter about a company he partially owns, accompanied by a full moon emoji.
There is an opinion that the use of emojis in the case of investors is interpreted as a hidden signal for people to buy these shares. This action is ‘insider trading’ which violates the law.
“This is another example of how an emoji can have serious legal consequences, in this case, potential security fraud,” said Professor Goldman.
Professor McMahon said those accused of emojis often claimed they were “just joking.” However, courts often decide otherwise.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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Story: Sending a thumbs up emoji will result in a fine of IDR 935 million
(Martya Rizky/hsy)