Clarity in Business Contract: An Analysis of Amazon’s Influencer Terms and Conditions

Multhahada Ramadhani Siregar, Dwi Tiara Kurnilasari, Syafri Naldi
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33650/ijoeel.v7i1.11210



Abstract

This study will examine the accessibility of the Amazon Influencer Terms and Conditions by analyzing some of the semantic ambiguities in the document and how those ambiguities influence the influencer's awareness of rights and obligations. Digital marketing, or influencer marketing in particular, has become a regular way of conducting business in an online world, but the language in those contracts is often still unclear and complicated, especially for someone without a legal background. This study employs qualitative textual analysis, based on semantic theory, in order to uncover lexical, modal, syntactic, and referential ambiguities in the contract. The study found many examples of ambiguity, including vague terms such as “reasonable” and the unexpected use of modal verbs “may” in politically important phrases, which leaves the influencer confused about their duties and the authority of the platform. These uncertainties could make the transparency worse, and consequently can destroy the balance in the relationship between Amazon and its partners. The investigation also emphasizes the need for the usage of clear and simple language and one terminology due to the high level of influence and fair precision in influencer contracts. It is recommended to enhance the functionality of providing full explanations to help readers to be able easier to understand some of the concepts, identical or similar occurrences of modal verbs in legal documents that were intended to act as a legally binding document, and usability testing to identify the readability problems of non-legal readers.

Keywords

semantics; linguistics; business; contractual language

Full Text:

PDF

References

Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderland, L., & Brizee, A. Ahmed, A., & Rathore, T. (2024). The evolution of influencer marketing. In Advances in Data Analytics for Influencer Marketing: An Interdisciplinary Approach.

Chen, H., Jiang, R., Song, Y., & Wang, J.-H. (2020). A corpus-based study of the central modal verbs in legal English. Frontiers in Educational Research, 3(11), 88–92.

Chomsky, N. (1965). Aspects of the theory of syntax. MIT Press.

Coupette, C., Hartung, D., Beckedorf, J., Böther, M., & Katz, D. M. (2021). Law smells: Defining and detecting problematic patterns in legal drafting. arXiv preprint arXiv:2110.11984. https://arxiv.org/abs/2110.11984

Han, Y., Ceross, A., & Bergmann, J. H. M. (2024). The use of readability metrics in legal text: A systematic literature review. arXiv preprint arXiv:2411.09497. https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.09497

Joshi, Y., Lim, W.M., Jagani, K., et al. (2023).

Social media influencer marketing: foundations, trends, and ways forward.

Electronic Commerce Research.

Leech, G. N. (1981). Semantics: The study of meaning (2nd ed.). Penguin Books.

Sajili, M., Rakhmanita, A., & Pramelani, P. (2024). The role of social media influencers in shaping consumer preferences: Trends and implications for brand strategy. Equator Journal of Management and Entrepreneurship (EJME), 12(4), 341–348.

Saternus, M., Boerman, S. C., & Reijmersdal, E. A. van. (2022). Disclosing influencer marketing on YouTube to children: The impact of disclosure type and timing on advertising recognition, brand attitude, and purchase intention. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 58, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2022.01.001SpringerLink

Solan, L. M. (1993). The language of judges. University of Chicago Press.

Ződi, Z. (2020). The limits of plain legal language: Understanding the comprehensible style in law. Academia.edu. https://www.academia.edu/47446990/

Waltenrath, A. (2024). Consumers’ ambiguous perceptions of advertising disclosures in influencer marketing: Disentangling the effects on current and future social media engagement. Electronic Markets, 34(8). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-023-00679-8

Wang, X., Xu, F., Luo, X. R., & Peng, L. (2022). Effect of sponsorship disclosure on online consumer responses to positive reviews: The moderating role of emotional intensity and tie strength. Decision Support Systems, 156, 113741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2022.113741SpringerLink

Wies, S., Bleier, A., & Edeling, A. (2022). Finding Goldilocks influencers: How follower count drives social media engagement. Journal of Marketing, 87(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429221125131SpringerLink

Xu, Y., & Casal, J. E. (2023). Navigating complexity in plain English: A longitudinal analysis of syntactic and lexical complexity development in L2 legal writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 62, 101059. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2023.101059


Dimensions, PlumX, and Google Scholar Metrics

10.33650/ijoeel.v7i1.11210


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2025 Multhahada Ramadhani Siregar, Dwi Tiara Kurnilasari, Syafri Naldi