Instead of going to court, you must resolve legal disputes with Patreon through a private arbitration process. You also cannot join a class action lawsuit against Patreon. You can opt out, but only within 30 days of creating your account.
This provision means that if Patreon withholds your earnings, misuses your data, or otherwise harms you, you cannot sue them in a public court or band together with other affected users — you must pursue your claim alone through a private arbitration process that tends to favor repeat corporate participants.
Cross-platform context
See how other platforms handle Mandatory Arbitration and Class Action Waiver and similar clauses.
Compare across platforms →Mandatory arbitration removes your right to a jury trial and blocks you from joining class action lawsuits, which are often the only practical way for individuals to hold large companies accountable for widespread harms.
REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: This provision implicates the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. §§1–16) as the governing statute for enforceability. The CFPB's 2017 arbitration rule (since repealed by Congress) and the FTC Act Section 5 remain relevant for assessing whether the opt-out mechanism is sufficiently conspicuous. State law challenges may arise under McGill v. Citibank (California Supreme Court) for public injunctive relief claims, which California courts have held cannot be waived by arbitration agreement.
Compliance intelligence locked
Regulatory citations, enforcement risk, and due diligence action items.
Watcher: regulatory citations. Professional: full compliance memo.