New ruling on meaning behind "continue" button

Simply providing a link to your website’s terms and conditions, and positioning it above the “continue” button, has been ruled as a satisfactory practice by the U.S. Court of Appeal.

by Helen Leggatt

As a result of a legal case in which True.com were being sued by a user for gender-discrimination, came a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeal that check-boxes aren’t necessary when asking for user confirmation that the terms and conditions had been read. By clicking on a “continue” button, users are deemed to have read and understood any terms and conditions.

However, not everyone in the industry believes omitting check-boxes is a good idea. They argue that, by asking a user to check a box, that user is actively demonstrating their agreement.

Others argue that the wording on the button should be “I agree” instead of “continue”, thus alerting the user to the purpose of the link.

"I guess it doesn't matter what the button says,” said BNA Managing Editor Thomas O’Toole in his blog, “so long as the user is on notice that clicking the button indicates agreement to a contract that has been mentioned – but not necessarily displayed – prior to presentation of the button."