So, the last time you read a privacy policy was…..
We live in a world where there are so many privacy policies and terms and conditions agreements that it could be pretty time consuming to peruse them each time we use the site, device, page, form, or service. So we often end up not reading them—not just each time of use, but ever.
For those of us who took a year or more of coursework on Contracts Law, that can be potentially problematic. Most people don’t really know what we’re signing up for at any point. We don’t know if our privacy is being protected—and to what degree.
That’s the problem
That’s a problem, a pretty formidable pain point. And you and I aren’t the only ones who think so.
Disconnect a startup that creates tools to let people manage the data they share online, was drawn to work on a groundbreaking project that could change the way we analyze privacy policies on sites we use every day.
Legal Hackathon – Nov 16th 2012 – at Mozilla Foundation HQ in San Francisco (#PrivacyIcons)
The overall idea was to crowdsource the reading of privacy policies and to bucket major components by designating a different icon for each bucketed response (i.e. “iconifying”)
1. Does this website sell your data or share it with third parties or affiliates without your express permission, or as you’d reasonably expect given the site’s service?
2. Does this website collect and use your data other than as you expressly allow or as you’d reasonably expect given the site’s service?
3. Does this website disclose user data to the government and other third parties without proper legal procedure (E.g., the presentation of a valid court order)?
4. How long does this site retain user data after the service is provided or a user requests deletion?

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