When Web surfers sign up for a new online service or
download a Web application for their smartphone or tablet, the service
typically requires them to click a seemingly innocuous box and accept the
company’s terms of service and privacy policy. But agreeing to terms without
reading them beforehand can adversely affect a user’s legal rights, says a new
paper by a University of Illinois expert in technology and legal issues.
Law professor Jay P. Kesan says the current “non-negotiable
approach” to user privacy is in need of serious revision, especially with the
increased popularity of Web-based software that shares information through
cloud computing.