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| "The terms, the terms, he doth accept the terms. He looks not smart..." |
When essentially every motion of modern life involves a corporation, corporate "Terms of Service" (TOS) become the governing principle that overrides the Bill of Rights. This TOS Override has far reaching implications in the 21st century. If Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram can say, "We're private. You can't say that on our private platform," while functioning as a public utility, then where does it end? If this precept is valid and consistently applied, then internet service providers can deny you web access and telecoms can deny you phone service for the very same reason. Indeed, every bank, insurance company, and health care provider can deny you service on the same basis as well.
We have all clicked the "Agree" button on the "Terms of Service" from numerous corporations without reading them, as the default initiation ritual for gaining access to some application, software, or service. This practice has catechized us on the principle that, "reading the fine print is unimportant, all that matters is meeting our immediate, short-term need." But we are beginning to see seeing the first, tangible, harvest of fine print negligence ripening before our eyes. Given that God controls the weather, let us pray for a crop failure. Moreover, let's take steps to plow the field under by eliminating our entanglements with corporations who use TOS to oppose the principles of constitutional liberty.
The picture for this blog post comes from The Court Jester - a film that my family and I have enjoyed for many years. I have often described it as a "perfect movie." It is a delightful, family-friendly respite from current events.
