Terms of service are the legal agreements between the provider of a service—such as a website—and the users of the service. When a user is given proper notice of these terms and agrees to or accepts the terms by some affirmative act, such as continuing to use the service or ticking a box to indicate agreement, the parties form an enforceable contract regarding the user’s use or purchase of the product or service. Terms of service are also commonly referred to as terms of use, terms and conditions, or abbreviated as TOS or T&C.
In North Carolina, as in other states, terms of service (TOS), also known as terms of use or terms and conditions, are considered legally binding agreements between a service provider and the user. These terms outline the rules and guidelines that users must agree to and follow in order to use the service provided. For the agreement to be enforceable, the user must be given proper notice of the terms and must indicate their agreement through an affirmative act, such as clicking a checkbox that states they agree to the terms, or by continuing to use the service. If these conditions are met, the terms of service constitute a contract that is enforceable under North Carolina contract law. It is important for service providers to ensure that their terms of service are clear, accessible, and properly presented to users to ensure that they are legally binding.