Wake up, babe. New Disney atrocity just dropped.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of Dr. Tangsuan’s unfortunate death due to a severe allergic reaction at a Disney World restaurant. You’ve probably also heard that, if you’ve ever signed up for Disney+, you are legally not allowed to sue Disney anymore. Or any of their affiliates. For any reason. Ever.
Obviously this is beyond ridiculous, and raises the question of the validity of terms of service in court. Can corporations really bury anything in their terms of service to dodge accountability? I get the need to protect against frivolous lawsuits, but this feels like a whole new level of “Hakuna Matata” for corporate negligence.
I’ll leave the in-depth legal analysis to the professionals (and Twitter). Instead, I want to talk about the precedent that Disney is setting here, as a streaming company. My recent hot take on Netflix being a good monopoly has aged like fine wine.
Personally, I’m a filthy pirate. I’ve never signed up for Disney+ or any other streaming service for that matter. As a card-carrying member of the “free content” society, I’m not going to lie, I’ve always smugly looked down on those who spend money on content that I enjoy for free. Sure it’s a very wrong kind of superiority, but Disney just handed me a piracy pardon on a silver platter.
Not only do I enjoy their content for free, but I can also sue them. Everyone who obeyed the law and did things “the right way”, on the other hand, cannot sue Disney in case of wrongdoing. They have literally created a valid and legal incentive to commit crime. I no longer need to justify my piracy or manage the guilt associated. My superiority is justified. Thank you Disney.
Their messaging here is loud and clear. If you want to maintain your right to hold Disney accountable, you should steal their content and never pay for it. That way, in case someone you care about is ever harmed by them, you can actually do something about it.
Yar har, fiddle dee dee
Being a pirate is alright to be
Do what you want ‘cause a pirate is free!