Yahoo and parent Oath remove Canada-specific clause from terms of use

TORONTO — The company that operates the Yahoo email service has changed its Canadian terms of service to remove some of the new wording that has upset users and prompted an investigation by the federal privacy watchdog.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner says the company known as Oath, which owns Yahoo, Huffington Post and other businesses, has decided one of the clauses in the agreement is unnecessary and it has been removed.

The announcement follows a revelation that Oath was making its service available on the condition that users in Canada had the consent of friends and contacts to provide their personal information to the company or a third party.

People who used the Yahoo email service provided with their Rogers accounts were among the first to complain about the clause, which was within Oath’s recently revised terms of service agreement.

A statement from the privacy commissioner’s office on Tuesday said it had received 10 complaints to date, some about other aspects of the terms of service, and it has launched an investigation involving Rogers, Yahoo and Oath.

Companies in this story: (TSX:RCI.B)