EVERY day, thousands of people enter legally binding agreements without reading a single word. Whether downloading a mobile application, signing up for a streaming service or making an online purchase, users are presented with lengthy terms and conditions followed by a simple button: “I Agree.” With a single click, a contract is formed.

Convenient though it may be, this transformation raises a basic question: can consent be meaningful when almost nobody reads the contracts they accept? A contract is formed when parties freely and knowingly agree to exchange rights and obligations. The law assumes that individuals have read, understood and accepted the terms governing their relationship. That assumption may have been plausible when contracts were negotiated face-to-face or signed after careful review. In the digital age, however, it resembles legal fiction.

Research shows that many readers do not read the terms and conditions of modern online contracts — ‘clickwrap agreements’ — before accepting them. Lengthy documents written in dense legal language make meaningful review impractical for them. What is then presented as consent often becomes a mere ritual for readers.

Despite this, courts........

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