On 2024-09-27 23:22:04 UTC, TurtleMedicine ^(38184) wrote:

Steam has replaced forced arbitration with this:

"For All Subscribers Outside the European Union and United Kingdom:

You and Valve agree that this Agreement shall be deemed to have been made and executed in the State of Washington, U.S.A., and Washington law, excluding conflict of laws principles and the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, governs all disputes and claims arising out of or relating to: (i) any aspect of the relationship between us; (ii) this Agreement; or (iii) your use of Steam, your Account or the Content and Services. You and Valve agree that all disputes and claims between you and Valve (including any dispute or claim that arose before the existence of this or any prior agreement) shall be commenced and maintained exclusively in any state or federal court located in King County, Washington, having subject matter jurisdiction. You and Valve hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts and waive any objections as to personal jurisdiction or venue in such courts."

they also included this at the top of the page:

"Valve has updated the Steam Subscriber Agreement. The updates affect your legal rights, including how disputes and claims between you and Valve are resolved. Among other things, the new dispute resolution provisions in Section 10 require that all disputes and claims proceed in court and not in arbitration. Please review carefully."

On 2024-10-13 09:16:35 UTC, Franta ^(38374) wrote:

section 10 in all its glory, if I understand correctly, it means that you can go to court if you so wish

1. APPLICABLE LAW/JURISDICTION ⏶

Most user concerns can be resolved by use of our Steam support site at https://support.steampowered.com/. If Valve is unable to resolve your concerns and a dispute remains between you and Valve, this Section explains how the parties have agreed to resolve it.

For All Subscribers Outside the European Union and United Kingdom:

You and Valve agree that this Agreement shall be deemed to have been made and executed in the State of Washington, U.S.A., and Washington law, excluding conflict of laws principles and the Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, governs all disputes and claims arising out of or relating to: (i) any aspect of the relationship between us; (ii) this Agreement; or (iii) your use of Steam, your Account or the Content and Services. You and Valve agree that all disputes and claims between you and Valve (including any dispute or claim that arose before the existence of this or any prior agreement) shall be commenced and maintained exclusively in any state or federal court located in King County, Washington, having subject matter jurisdiction. You and Valve hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts and waive any objections as to personal jurisdiction or venue in such courts.

If the laws where you live mandate alternative dispute resolution options, you may seek a remedy under those options. If you are a consumer who lives in Russia, you may also seek a remedy with local Russian state courts.

For EU and UK Subscribers:

This Agreement is governed by the law of the country where you have your habitual residence.

In the event of a dispute relating to the interpretation, the performance or the validity of the Subscriber Agreement, an amicable solution may be sought before any legal action. You can file your complaint at http://help.steampowered.com. The European Commission provides an Online Dispute Resolution website for EU consumers at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. Participation in this website is not available to US companies, which is why Valve is not registered there. However, insofar as your complaint concerns the behavior of Valve’s data protection representative Valve GmbH you can file your complaint there.

In the event that an Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedure fails, or if either Valve or you prefer not to resort to Alternative Dispute Resolution, you may bring proceedings in the courts of the place where you are domiciled.