united-states terms-of-service
When is a name other than a legal name considered &quot;inaccurate information&quot; for a Terms of Service?
<p>Some sites may ask for a first and last name or other personal information. Several sites have a condition in their Terms of Service that providing inaccurate information upon registration is not permitted. Does the name have to match a legal or commonly used name to be considered accurate, or only if the ToS states it directly? For example, if my legal name was John Doe, could I use nicknames (Johnny or Jack Doe) or a random name (Cool Man or James Smith, for instance)?</p>
<p>A good example of this is <a href="https://www.wix.com/about/terms-of-use" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wix's Terms</a>, which say:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You must provide accurate and complete information when registering your User Account and using the Wix Services, to which you are the sole and exclusive rights holder. We strongly encourage you to provide your own (or your company’s) contact and billing details, including your valid e-mail address, as we may use it to identify and determine the actual and true owner of the User Account and/or User Content (as defined below) submitted to us.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Or <a href="https://www.weebly.com/terms-of-service" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Weebly's</a>, which say:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In consideration of use of the Service, you agree to maintain and update true, accurate, current and complete Registration Data. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, or if Weebly has reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, we may suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of the Service or any portion thereof.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Depending on the circumstances, it may be irrelevant whether or not the the terms of service contain an express clause dealing with inaccurate information.</p>
<p>For example, in England and Wales and Northern Ireland, under <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/35/section/2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">section 2(1) of the Fraud Act 2006</a>, if you dishonestly make a representation which is untrue or misleading with the intention to make a gain or cause someone a loss you will <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/35/section/1" rel="nofollow noreferrer">commit the offence of fraud</a>.</p>
<p>This could arise for example if you give a false name intending to obstruct the other party from being able to pursue you for any breach of your contractual obligations (e.g. non-payment for services).</p>
<p>As for whether or not you would breach any clause in the contract requiring you to provide accurate information, it's very hard to say without seeing the exact wording and context of the clause.</p>

<p>In principle, Terms and Services agreements are effectively contracts, and would be governed mostly under contract law, at least under Common Law interpretations (i.e., US or UK legal principles).  Therefore an intentional breach of the terms could form the basis of a breach of the contract itself, and justification for being removed from the website.</p>
<p>There are two seperate considerations - are they asking for the &quot;legal name&quot; for billing purposes (as Vix appears to do), or simply for display name purposes (for example, Facebook).</p>
<p>Even if a site asks for your &quot;legal name,&quot; it is likely that a simple common nickname such as Johnny for John or Mike for Michael would not form the basis of any action.  This is particularly true where your billing information might not match your legal name exactly - your legal name might be William X. Q. Smith III, but if your credit card says Bill Smith, then you're almost certainly ok going with Bill Smith.</p>
<p>In general however, the consequences of using a &quot;false&quot; name seem to depend wildly on the individual circumstances.  If I use a nickname on Facebook, the worst they really are likely to do is ask me to change it back, and perhaps suspend my account if I refuse.  The less name-like my nickname is (i.e., if instead of Mike, I go by Shazam), the more likely a suspension might be.</p>
<p>-Shaz... I mean, Mike.</p>

<p>This may differ per stare or potentially even per local or tribal laws, but on the federal level in the U.S., my guess would be that if the information form is referenced or otherwise incorporated in the ToS, it may be inaccurate information to enter other then parts of your full name respectively, so long as the form requires that you fill it out at the first and last name per your full name. If it does not specify it, you may, in good faith, fill it out by the first and last names you are predominantly known by.</p>
