I'm starting to think nobody reads the things they click "I Agree" to. The terms of the agreement are right there but you can't say you 'didnt know' if you agree to them without reading.
I believe there needs to be a change in how terms and conditions are written - people need bullet points.
By clicking "I Agree", the user (you) agrees that:
1. [COMPANY] can sell your data to third-parties. This data includes [x, y, z]
2. [COMPANY] will retain your data for [X YEARS]
3. [COMPANY] will allow you to delete your data by visiting [WEBSITE]
That sort of thing. People don't read; right, wrong, or indifferent, people don't read. They especially don't read convoluted, exceedingly long terms and conditions that they HAVE to accept to use a product.
I read every single document I sign my name to, every time. I'm not alone either. I assume we're mostly engineers here, some of us maybe are involved in contractual things, so tell me: in your job do you sign your business's name or your own name as Officer to contracts you haven't read? Now tell me, if work is less important than your personal affairs why on earth would you review the terms for work agreements, but not for yourself? If I agreed to contracts without reading them in a job context, I'd be in the unemployment line so fast the IRS would send me their condolences.
Do I read all work contracts and terms? Of course.
Do I read all contracts in my personal life related to property, finance, or other important things? Of course.
Do I read the 10 pages of EULA every time Angry Birds updates new levels? Absolutely not.
In the context of Apple: When you activate a phone, the salesperson who sets it up (most people in middle america still do go to the store to get their phones activated) literally flashes the screen at you and says something to the effect of, "do you agree? If not, you can't use this phone."
This has to be a joke, right?
"Real" contracts are another matter entirely.
Abso.fucking.lutely. I believe the state of technology has progressed to the point that EULA are just weasel words. People view them as necessary evils that don't really impact their lives (or, rather, shouldn't) but companies treat them like legal documents.
A court needs to settle this.
Of course that reality does not suit well companies and they try very hard to create their own bubble world of user contracts.
Proper country laws enforce consumer laws instead based on intent
So ultimately when it comes to company-user relationships nothing short of making some rights including privacy inalienable will prevent this shit. That's why we need laws like the GDPR and similar ones in other regions. Because corporations have shown again and again that if there is a profit to be made of abusing users they will find a way to get away with it.
I guess my question is: what are you saying?