But in some cultures, it’s “offensive (it has the same meaning as the middle finger).”ĭespite the ambiguity, or because of it, people in every company use emojis to talk to each other and, more dangerously, to outsiders (including intermediaries and government officials).

Eric Goldman, the law prof who writes about emojis, said the thumbs up can be an affirmation of contractual assent. These informal, ephemeral messaging systems were used to approve transfers in the tens of millions of dollars, leaving only informal records of such transfers, or no records at all.Įmojis also bring cross-cultural complications. “The possibility of misinterpretation-or plausible deniability-might be part of the appeal of using emoji at work,” she said.Įmojis can be evidence of corporate malfeasance or worse, even when used inside companies among coworkers.Īt FTX Group, expenses and invoices were submitted on Slack and were approved by emoji. Lora Kelley, an associate editor at the Atlantic, wrote about those cases and the vagueness of many emojis. Nonetheless, in the context of the parties’ dealings, it “conveyed acceptance” of the contract and was legally equivalent to a signature. The judge said a thumbs up emoji might be a non-traditional way to sign a document. The defendant, a farmer, argued that his thumbs up “simply confirmed that received the flax contract,” not that he had agreed to the terms of the deal. In Canada last year, a judge ruled that a thumbs up emoji can be the basis for a binding contract. The stock then crashed on news of his sale.Ĭohen’s side-eyed moon emoji is at the center of the plaintiff’s’ pending case. When the stock went up, he sold all his shares, raking in gains of $60 million. They interpreted that to mean Cohen thought the stock would go up (“to the moon”), so they bought, too. The plaintiffs allege Cohen misled them when he used a side-eyed moon in a tweet about meme stock Bed Bath & Beyond. Judge McFadden denied a defense motion for summary judgment last year in a shareholder class action against a widely followed investor, Ryan Cohen. Just like with words, liability will turn on the emoji’s particular meaning in context.” In one such case, DC federal district court judge Trevor McFadden said emojis are symbols and “may be actionable if they communicate an idea that would otherwise be actionable. He’s an IP specialist who tracks court cases involving emojis. “There are 200+ cases a year referencing emojis or emoticons,” according to Eric Goldman, a professor at Santa Clara University School of Law. Because they’re shorthand, emojis are often ambiguous and intentionally non-committal, and that’s a problem for compliance. They’re shorthand substitutes for thoughtful responses that might come later. Another person might post “Please subscribe to my channel if you like my content! 👍” to solicit support or to say thanks.Īs with much of language, the thumbs-up emoji can also be used sarcastically: “Way to ruin the party 👍.” It’s also sometimes used in reference to the “This guy” meme (e.g., “Who’s got two thumbs and a ticket to the premiere of Black Panther? This guy”).They appear in just about every Slack thread, sometimes strung together - a moon face, a rocket ship, a thumbs up. Someone might comment “That looks great! 👍” to celebrate a piece of online artwork. The thumbs-up emoji also frequently punctuates text, sometimes in strings for additional emphasis, to indicate positivity, agreement, approval, encouragement, or assurance, an equivalent to “Awesome!” or Great job!”. On its own, a thumbs-up emoji can indicate “OK” or “Got it.” For example, if one person asked to meet another at 2:30, the other person could acknowledge the appointment with a thumbs-up emoji. In many Western cultures, the thumbs-up emoji enjoys a wide range of use in text messages, social-media posts, and other forms of digital communication. In some cultures, including Australia, Greece, and the Middle East, the thumbs-up gesture can be considered obscene, equivalent to “Up yours!”

Emoji with thumbs up meme