Spotify TOS Changed

What changed

The updated Terms add explicit class action waiver language to the governing law section, expand arbitration agreement scope to cover claims predating the agreement, require disclosure of litigation funders in arbitration demands, clarify that federal arbitration law applies exclusively, and give Spotify the ability to opt cases out of arbitration after the mass arbitration mediation process.

Details

• •The governing law section heading was updated to include 'class action waiver,' and new language was added explicitly stating that each party may only bring claims individually and may not participate in class, collective, or representative proceedings, whether in court or arbitration.
• •The governing law section was expanded to clarify that New York courts have jurisdiction over disputes involving the applicability and enforceability of the Arbitration Agreement itself.
• •The arbitration agreement's scope was broadened to cover claims that arose before the existence of the current or any prior arbitration agreement, not just claims arising during or after termination of the Terms.
• •A court's authority over arbitrability was expanded to explicitly include disputes over which version of the Arbitration Agreement applies.
• •Language clarifying that the Federal Arbitration Act's substantive and procedural provisions govern (and that state arbitration law does not apply) was added to the arbitration rules section.
• •A new requirement was added that the arbitration demand must disclose any person or entity funding the arbitration or having a financial interest in it.
• •Language was added clarifying that an arbitrator's ruling in one user's case will not have preclusive effect in proceedings involving different users.
• •In the mass arbitration section, a reference to a 'process arbitrator' was replaced with 'NAM Procedural Arbitrator.'
• •The second stage of the mass arbitration process was simplified to reference the same process as the first stage, removing the previously specified count of 50 cases per side (100 total).
• •In the mass arbitration Option One, Spotify was given the ability to opt a claimant's case out of arbitration by sending notice to the claimant's counsel within 14 days after the claimant's 30-day opt-out period ends, a right that did not previously exist.
• •A minor editorial change was made in the export control section, removing a duplicate reference to the UK Export Control Act 2002.