Book contents
- Reviews
- Our Artificial Future
- Our Artificial Future
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figure and Tables
- Boxes
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Understanding GenAI
- Part II An Overview of Key Concepts
- Part III Legal
- 11 An Introduction to Copyright Law
- 12 Copyright Law and GenAI Exceptionalism
- 13 An Introduction to the First Amendment
- 14 The First Amendment and GenAI Exceptionalism
- 15 Contract Law and Websites
- 16 Contract Law and GenAI Exceptionalism
- 17 Licensing for GenAI
- 18 Tort Law
- 19 Property, Exclusion, and Trespass
- Part IV Societal Implications
- Part V Looking Further Ahead
- Part VI What to Do about It
- Notes
- Index
15 - Contract Law and Websites
from Part III - Legal
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 July 2026
Book contents
- Reviews
- Our Artificial Future
- Our Artificial Future
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figure and Tables
- Boxes
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Understanding GenAI
- Part II An Overview of Key Concepts
- Part III Legal
- 11 An Introduction to Copyright Law
- 12 Copyright Law and GenAI Exceptionalism
- 13 An Introduction to the First Amendment
- 14 The First Amendment and GenAI Exceptionalism
- 15 Contract Law and Websites
- 16 Contract Law and GenAI Exceptionalism
- 17 Licensing for GenAI
- 18 Tort Law
- 19 Property, Exclusion, and Trespass
- Part IV Societal Implications
- Part V Looking Further Ahead
- Part VI What to Do about It
- Notes
- Index
Summary
This chapter explores the legal crisis at the intersection of contract law and generative AI (GenAI). Millions of users unknowingly surrender rights to their digital content through “clickwrap” and “browsewrap” agreements they never read, creating a powerful “legal fiction” of consent. GenAI companies are now leveraging these historical agreements to monetize vast repositories of user-generated content, as exemplified by the $60 million Reddit/Google licensing deal. The central legal puzzle is whether the same terms of service (ToS) that bind human users also apply to automated scraping bots that harvest data for AI training. The answer will determine who controls and profits from human creativity in the digital age, either by creating a massive legal loophole for AI companies or by forcing them to negotiate compensation with content creators.
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- Our Artificial FutureWhat Generative AI Means for Law and Society, pp. 176 - 180Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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