Fresh GoDaddy Terms of Service: we no longer serve “consumers”
GoDaddy’s updated terms state that all clients are business clients.
GoDaddy published an updated Terms of Service this month, with a key modification.
The TOS states that GoDaddy’s services can only be used by businesses, not consumers.
It broadly defines “business client” to include:
(i) any person or entity acting in a business or professional capacity; (ii) any commercial entity, partnership, firm, organization, sole proprietor, self-employed individual, or independent contractor; (iii) any individual using Services for professional purposes (counting, for example, personal branding, online presence, reputation management, career advancement, or professional networking); and (iv) any individual acquiring Services to protect, secure, or manage their personal name, identity, brand, or online reputation for a business or professional purpose (counting, for example, freelancers, consultants, influencers, content creators, job seekers, and defensive domain registrations). Our Services are not intended for private, personal or household use.
While this is quite broad, it seems that using GoDaddy to create, say, an online photo album of your family or a personal travel blog for your friends would be outside its scope of services.
GoDaddy states all clients are business clients, even if its product descriptions state that the product can be used for personal use.
The firm likely made this move to limit the application of consumer protection laws. Some consumer statutes, counting some FTC rules, apply only to consumers, not to business-to-business transactions.
Additionally, the TOS states that, since the agreement is a commercial one, consumer arbitration laws apply only to the extent required by law.
The updated TOS also gives GoDaddy greater authority to verify your identity and/or business status. It also makes it more explicit that clients are responsible for ensuring that any auto-generated content produced by GoDaddy’s tools (i.e., AI outputs) does not infringe anyone’s rights ahead of they use it.
