If you enroll in Equifax’s identity protection service, you waive your right to sue or join any class action lawsuit against the company, which announced Thursday that the personal data of 143 million Americans may have been compromised.
Zack Whittaker, security editor at ZDNet, noticed the waiver provision in the Equifax terms of service.
“By consenting to submit Your Claims to arbitration, You will be forfeiting Your right to bring or participate in any class action (whether as a named plaintiff or a class member) or to share in any class action awards, including class claims where a class has not yet been certified, even if the facts and circumstances upon which the Claims are based already occurred or existed,” the terms of service reads.
“If you check Equifax’s site to see if your data was stolen, you *waive your rights* to sue Equifax or be part of a class action suit,” Whittaker wrote.
PSA: If you check Equifax’s site to see if your data was stolen, you *waive your rights* to sue Equifax or be part of a class action suit. pic.twitter.com/p4AlmmLQ3r
— Zack Whittaker (@zackwhittaker) September 8, 2017
He had some advice for those concerned their data may have been compromised.
Assume that if you’re an American with a credit card or a mortgage, your data has been leaked. But don’t waive your class action rights!
— Zack Whittaker (@zackwhittaker) September 8, 2017
Users can write to Equifax to ask to keep their right to join a class action suit, according to the terms of service.
@zackwhittaker Just checking the site – it’s OK https://t.co/hP4CV7RvZw You have to order their services to waive class action right
— Dmitri Vellikok (@dmitrivellikok) September 8, 2017