Uniqlo Terms and Conditions Illegally Ban Customers from Criticizing the Company, Class Action Claims

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Uniqlo USA faces a proposed class action lawsuit over the apparent inclusion in its online terms and conditions of a provision that prohibits customers from using the clothing brand’s name, graphics or designs to make any statement that is critical of, or otherwise discredits, the company.

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The 11-page Uniqlo lawsuit claims the company has violated a California law known as the Yelp Bill that prohibits certain merchants and service providers from including in consumer contracts any provision whereby a customer waives their right to make any statement regarding the seller or lessor, its employees or agents, or its goods or services. The case also claims the Uniqlo terms and conditions violate the federal Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016 given that they are a form contract that unlawfully restricts customers’ ability to review Uniqlo’s goods and services.

In order to make a purchase online, a consumer is required to agree to Uniqlo’s terms and conditions, the case says. Allegedly within the terms and conditions is a provision that bans a consumer from using Uniqlo’s “name, brand names, graphics, designs, logos or virtually any other material” that appears on the company’s site or app to make any disparaging or critical statement, the filing summarizes.

According to the complaint, California passed the law known as the Yelp Bill in 2014 to combat the proliferation of non-disparagement clauses in online consumer contracts, and instances of businesses attempting to enforce such clauses. 

The Uniqlo lawsuit looks to cover all individuals in California who, within the applicable statute of limitations period, created a Uniqlo account with the company through either Uniqlo.com or the Uniqlo app.

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