This
week
saw
the
introduction
of
the
The
Terms-of-service
Labeling,
Design
and
Readability
Act,
or
“TLDR
Act,”
for
short.
The
bill,
which,
for
now,
has
bipartisan
support,
would
require
the
FTC
to
create
rules
mandating
that
websites
must
offer
a
truncated
version
of
obnoxiously
long
and
predatory
terms
of
service
(TOS)
nobody
actually
reads.
The
“summary
statement”
websites
would
be
obligated
to
provide
would
not
only
lay
out
the
legal
requirements
in
terms
normal
humans
could
understand,
it
would
also
require
a
website
disclose
any
major
data
breaches
that
have
occurred
in
the
last
three
years.
A breakdown (pdf)
of
the
bill
also
states
it
will
require
websites
to
disclose
what
data
is
collected
upon
a
user’s
visit,
and
what
kind
of
control
a
user
has
over
that
data.
Any
violation
of
the
new
law
would
be
declared
to
be
within
the
realm
of
“unfair
and
deceptive”
under
the
FTC
Act,
giving
the
agency
the
authority
to
act
on
it.
Rep.
Lori
Trahan
had
this
to
say
about
the
need
for
such
a
law:
“For
far
too
long,
blanket
terms
of
service
agreements
have
forced
consumers
to
either
‘agree’
to
all
of
a
company’s
conditions
or
lose
access
to
a
website
or
app
entirely.
No
negotiation,
no
alternative,
and
no
real
choice,”
said
Congresswoman
Trahan,
a
member
of
the
House
Subcommittee
on
Consumer
Protection
and
Commerce.
“To
further
slant
the
decision
in
their
favor,
many
companies
design
unnecessarily
long
and
complicated
contracts,
knowing
that
users
don’t
have
the
bandwidth
to
read
lengthy
legal
documents
when
they’re
simply
trying
to
message
a
loved
one
or
make
a
quick
purchase.”
Yes,
most
TOS
are
overlong
and
that
length
is
often
used
to
obscure
bad
behavior
or
quietly
erode
consumer
rights
(see: binding
arbitration).
But
many
TOS
are also overlong
because
U.S.
law
and
compliance
are
complicated
as
hell.
The
idea
that
you
can
always
simplify
everything
a
company
needs
to
get
across
to
a
user
to
comply
with
the
law and reasonably
cover
your
ass
in
a
sentence
or
too
is
probably
a
little
simplistic.
At
the
same
time,
I’m
not
sure
the
American
consumer,
many
with
the
attention
span
of
a
goldfish,
would
even
read
the
truncated
version
of
a
TOS
anyway.
While
“more
transparency”
is
certainly
good,
it
also
only
goes
so
far
if
you’re
not
willing
to
tackle
the
deeper
problem(s).
For
example
the
FCC
is
pondering
a transparency
label
on
broadband
connections outlining
all
the
sneaky
ways
you’re
getting
ripped
off
by
your
internet
service
provider.
And
while knowing
the
precise
parameters
how
you’re
getting
ripped
off
is
nice,
users
in
monopolized
markets
can’t
switch
ISPs
anyway
because
the
FCC
generally
isn’t
willing
or
able
to
combat
monopolization
and
limited
competition.
So
transparency
only
accomplishes
so
much.
Here
too,
websites,
apps,
and
services
use
overlong
TOS
to
obfuscate
all
manner
of
behaviors
U.S.
regulators
either
don’t
have
the
resources
to
police
(the
FTC
has 8%
of
the
staff
dedicated
to
privacy
issues as
the
UK,
despite
the
UK
having
one-fifth
the
consumers
to
protect)
or
are
apathetic
to
because
of revolving
door
corruption (see:
telecom,
banking,
adtech,
etc.).
Expecting
the
FTC
to
do
a whole
lot
more
stuff without
notably
expanding
funding
seems
a
bit
short
sighted.
And
this
is
all
assuming
the
bill
is
actually
well
written
and
doesn’t
cause
new,
unforeseen
problems
via
sloppy
language.
So
while
well
intentioned,
this
feels
like
a
bit
of
a
band
aid
on
problems
policymakers
can’t
or
won’t
tackle
head
on.
Like
limited
competition.
Or
the
complete
and
total
lack
of
anything
even
vaguely
resembling
accountability
in
telecom,
adtech,
or
the
data
broker
space.
Or
privacy
reform.
Or
antitrust
reform.
All
of
these
problems
lead
to
bad
behaviors
companies
are
hiding
in
their
TOS,
and
making
those
bad
behaviors
clearer
to
the
end
user
is
only
part
of
a
process.
Knowing
you’re
getting
screwed
or
spied
on
is
only
helpful
if
you
have
the
recourse
to
do
something
about
it,
and
regulators
willing
to
stand
up
for
you
when
push
comes
to
shove.
New
‘TLDR’
Bill
Requires
Companies
Provide
Synopsis
Of
Overlong,
Predatory
Terms
Of
Service
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