Read this and replies with at least 1 scholarly source to support your conclusions and ideas, as well as Biblical application in current APA format. (minimum 100 words) Note that “I like what you said

Read this and replies with at least 1 scholarly source to support your conclusions and ideas, as well as Biblical application in current APA format. (minimum 100 words) Note that “I like what you said,” “that’s a good comment,” and “I disagree with your comment” do not count as a complete reply.

I believe that forum shopping is ethical to a certain extent. It’s tough to come to this decision when considering from a consumers point of view. However for the safety and most sound legal decision for the business, in this case Facebook, I think it is the safest and ethically sound way to settle these disputes. Since Facebook makes these statements clear within their user agreement and consumers have the choice to agree to this I think that it is ethical. One article highlights where some belief that forum shopping can be unethical, “forum shopping has a long history as a maligned practice.” (Bookman, 2016) Forum shopping can turn unethical when the power is abused, however in situations when the clause is clearly stated I feel that it can be considered ethical.

In cases such as Facebook’s forum selection clauses in business-to-consumer contracts courts should enforce contracts such as the user agreement. The consumer has the choice of agreeing to the user agreement, or to not agree and take their business elsewhere. By selecting that they agree to Facebook’s user agreement they are then agreeing to everything laid out within that agreement. Since the consumer has the option to opt in to this agreement or to not sign the agreement and not use Facebook, I believe that by checking that they agree courts should enforce these contracts. Unfortunately this can do harm to the consumer because if they ever needed to go to court they would not have the home advantage, but since it was within the agreement they signed up with I think its necessary.

If Facebook did not have a forum selection clause in their user agreement it would leave them open to much easier attacks for lawsuits. By not making clear specifications I think that they would potentially be putting themselves at a high risk of being subject to the jurisdiction of every state court in the United States since there are so many users scattered throughout the country. Logistically it would not be feasible to be prepared for each individual courts standings across the states. Since it does not seem fully feasible to be prepared to fight lawsuits across the country it’s important to set those guidelines up in the user agreement, one source says, “ forum shopping affects both procedural and substantive law, and thus it can have a determinative effect on a case’s outcome.” (Mehrle, 2020) Due to this I believe that it is crucial for companies such as Facebook to make forum selection clauses clear in their agreements with their users.