General Mills announced it was removing controversial legal terms from its website on Saturday following an uproar over the changes.
“Because our concerns and intentions were widely misunderstood, causing concerns among our consumers, we’ve decided to change them back to what they were,” company spokesman Mike Siemienas wrote in an email obtained by the New York Times.
The New York Times reported last week that General Mills had added new legal terms to its website that could force customers to surrender their right to sue the company if they downloaded coupons, joined its “online communities” or interacted with the company in a variety of other ways. Instead, the Times said, customers would have to submit complaints through arbitration or “informal negotiation.”
The company later clarified that “online communities” did not include its Facebook or Twitter profiles.
The surprising reversal follows criticism from both consumers and legal experts, who questioned the breadth and enforceability of such terms.
More Must-Reads From TIME
- Why We're Spending So Much Money Now
- The Fight to Free Evan Gershkovich
- Meet the 2024 Women of the Year
- John Kerry's Next Move
- The Quiet Work Trees Do for the Planet
- Breaker Sunny Choi Is Heading to Paris
- Column: The Internet Made Romantic Betrayal Even More Devastating
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Write to Nolan Feeney at nolan.feeney@time.com