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 ·Shaw
| reply to bruzzes
Re: EULA Privacy Statements. After having read some of Eric's posted EULA's etc. some quick observations that may help you sort through the "legalese" or least give you some things to watch out for. For the most part each EULA/Privacy Policy seems to make use of pervasive provisions which are less than favourable to the user. Hopefully when you see the following pitfalls you can avoid being taken advantage of by "FoistwareInc".
1. Firstly take the time to read the EULA. Frequently, as Eric's post above illustrates, the EULA will inform you directly that by downloading their product you are also implicitly consenting to the installation of third party software and are consenting to the terms and conditions that go with that software. Coincidentally those terms and conditions are usually not present in the EULA you are reading. Human nature being what it is, most people won't even read the EULA in the first place, much less interrupt a software installation to determine just what else they may have consented to. Guess what FoistwareInc is counting on.
2.Beware of terms or conditions that allow the software provider to unilaterally change the EULA, or privacy policy with little or no notice to you. For example, "FoistwareInc may at anytime for the better use of their product, modify the terms of the above license"....or "Posting at Foistware.com shall constitute notice to all users...". In other words we can change the terms of our agreement anytime we darn well please, the only condition being that it benefits us.
3.Does the company even have a Privacy Policy? They usually do, for what its worth, so have a look at it. This is particularly important if that policy has been "incorporated by reference" into the EULA. Again what you read in the EULA may not be the entirety of the agreement. And again be leery of vague or broadly worded language. The use of the word "may" in such a context where the software provider will benefit in some form can usually be construed to mean "will". For instance, "Foistware, in order to provide you with better service, may collect data as to the use of our product...and distribute that data to 3rd parties in order for them to provide appropriate material to further enhance the use of our product". A quick translation: "What is yours is now ours, and about to be theirs".
4.Be leery of privacy statements that reference and use third party service providers, and then deny any responsibility for the conduct of those providers ie "Foistware, in order to provide user specific advertisements may make use of and read third party cookies placed on our behalf. Foistware takes no other responsibility for the setting, access and use of that material, which is governed by the privacy policy of the third party providers." This is one of my favourites, talk about wide open. In this scenario the user has not only consented to the download of material from "Foistware", but as a result of that agreement with Foistware, literally opened his/her pc to the world and whim of third party affiliates of Foistware, and Foistware conveniently abrogates all responsibility for their conduct. What a laugh.
5.Finally don't be fooled by loaded language. The examples I have given above, for FoistwareInc while not direct quotes from the the various EULA's/Privacy Policies makes use of similar loaded terminology which is pretty much meaningless, and in reality no doubt intended to be that way. Frequently used terms like "enhance","experience" and "opportunity" are used to place a positive spin on the exploitation of your pc and your privacy.
Just some quick observations;) | |
2 edits | mens rea:
Excellent post with very helpful advice. I want to amplify a few of the things you pointed out about these privacy policy.
said by mens rea:
Beware of terms or conditions that allow the software provider to unilaterally change the EULA, or privacy policy with little or no notice to you.
This kind of language is almost ubiquitous in these kinds of EULAs and Privacy Policies, and it's why I advise people that as privacy guarantees, these documents are well nigh worthless. The kind of clause mens rea describes is a "get out of jail free" card for the company; it effectively undercuts what few protections you were given in those EULAs or privacy policies.
There's another very similar clause that often (but not always) appears in these documents -- it usually runs something like this:
"From time to time FoistwareInc may update the functionality of its software and install those updates without prior notice on your computer through a remote network connection. You consent to the installation of all future updates and agree to abide by the terms of any license agreements that may come with those updates."
Coupled with the "we can modify this policy/EULA at will" clause from above, this second clause essentially gives FoistwareInc the key to the front door and carte blanche to install anything on your computer without any notice whatsoever. I've said before and I'll say it again: it's increasingly the case that the only difference between classic malware such as trojans or worms and commercial crapware is a EULA. That's it. Beyond that EULA (which a worm or trojan will never show you), the functionality is essentially similar.
said by mens rea:
Frequently used terms like "enhance","experience" and "opportunity" are used to place a positive spin on the exploitation of your pc and your privacy.
Yes, this is classic. If the company's trying to do a sales job in the License Agreement, you can be certain that something fishy is going on. Most License Agreements read like attorneys wrote them because, in fact, attorneys did write them. If you're reading a License Agreement and you start to get the sense that some flack in Public Relations had a hand in it, that's because the company has something to hide, and when companies have something to hide (in plain sight!), they turn to Public Relations.
The classic example of this is the kind of language that often leads off Privacy Policies. It usually reads something like this:
"FoistwareInc takes your privacy seriously and is devoted to protecting your privacy and enhancing your customer experience."
Rest assured that nothing in what follows will be devoted to protecting your privacy; almost everything that follows will be describing all the ways that FoistwareInc will be exploiting your privacy. Does the company take your privacy seriously? You bet they do: they'll be seriously devoting themselves to exploiting it because it can make them a serious pile of money. And the only thing that's going be "enhanced" is their bottom line.
Thanks once again, mens rea, for the informative post.
Best,
Eric L. Howes | |
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