“I Agreed to What?”: A Call for Enforcement of Clarity in the Presentation of Privacy Policies

Authors

David Thompson

Abstract

Though the federal government has enacted statutes regulating privacy policies in limited contexts, there is no generally applicable law governing the nature of privacy policies across all industries. In light of the ever-increasing prevalence of user data collection and the widespread failure of companies under the self-regulatory model to make their policies readable, of reasonable length, and placed in a noticeable location, I argue that such a regulation should be promulgated.

This note will address the difficulties of preserving one's privacy in the digital era, discuss common shortcomings of privacy policies, explore the negative consequences of these shortcomings, then analyze best practices and discuss how they might be integrated into a regulatory framework.

Recommended Citation

David Thompson, “I Agreed to What?”: A Call for Enforcement of Clarity in the Presentation of Privacy Policies, 35 UC Law SF Comm. & Ent. L.J. 203 (2012).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_comm_ent_law_journal/vol35/iss1/4