Reading the fine print of the terms of use of many web services is something that few people get to do because of how extensive these types of legal documents can be.
For this reason, for a long time, a strange Amazon clause has gone unnoticed, and it refers to a possible “Zombie Apocalypse”. The specific number that refers to this hypothetical scenario is clause 42.10, which was added in mid-2016.
The clause is addressed to Amazon Lumberyard, a video game engine that allows developers to create or host their own games on the company’s cloud services.
The text details the scenarios in which Amazon considers the use of its software to be acceptable or not. Among them highlights the possibility of an infection that leads to corpses reviving and trying to consume human flesh.
“42.10. Acceptable Use; Safety-Critical Systems. Your use of the Lumberyard Materials must comply with the AWS Acceptable Use Policy. The Lumberyard Materials are not intended for use with life-critical or safety-critical systems, such as use in operation of medical equipment, automated transportation systems, autonomous vehicles, aircraft or air traffic control, nuclear facilities, manned spacecraft, or military use in connection with live combat. However, this restriction will not apply in the event of the occurrence (certified by the United States Centers for Disease Control or successor body) of a widespread viral infection transmitted via bites or contact with bodily fluids that causes human corpses to reanimate and seek to consume living human flesh, blood, brain or nerve tissue and is likely to result in the fall of organized civilization.” the Amazon clause refers.
This has generated discussions on social networks about whether it is possible that Amazon or its founder, Jeff Bezos, have knowledge of some type of information that allows them to infer that a Zombie Apocalypse is possible.
From the e-commerce company they have not explained the reason for including a clause of this type among their terms of service. Some users of social networks consider that it could be a kind of joke on the part of the company because precisely this type of text is not usually read by its clients.