One aspect is that arbitration agreements almost always block class action lawsuits which can be hugely advantageous to a company. If a group of people have their rights or contacts violated, each must now pursue it individually, at potentially high personal expense in a system the company has more control over. Class action lawsuits are far from flawed, but they can be a terrifying prospect to companies. With arbitration, they now get to fight N people one on one instead of a talented team of big time lawyers indirectly representing all wronged parties (and keeping all the money usually, but it still punishes the company, and you can at least still bring your own suit).