Shazam Ramrup
Jan 20, 2012
Different Viewpoints
 Who should be in charge of controlling and reading
what is in the Terms and Service agreements ?
 The Government or you ?
Free-market view
 Little to no Government involvement
 Everyone can voluntarily enter or refuse an
agreement that organizations offers at their own
judgement
 Organizations collecting personal data should clearly
inform the person and provide the information if
they will not keep it confidential and how they will use
it.
Free-market view
 Legal sanctions for those who steal personal data
who violate confidential agreements.
 Respects the rights and ability of consumers to make
choices for themselves based on their own values
 Consumer responsibility
 “it’s impossible to know how much benefits people are
willing to trade for more privacy.”
Consumer-protection view
 Strong government regulation
 Prohibits waivers and broad consent agreements for
secondary uses.
 More opt-in and less opt-out
 Protect consumers against abuses and carelessness
by businesses based on their lack of knowledge,
judgement and interest.
Consumer-protection view
 Informed consent is not enough
 Sometimes the people can’t reject an agreement
 e.g, loans, house, car, job, Google
 Businesses sometimes do not follow their stated
policies
Consumer-protection view
 “You can’t expect an ordinary consumer who is very
busy trying to earn a living to sit down and understand
what [consent] means. They don’t understand the
implications of what use of their data can mean to
them.” – Mary Gardiner Jones, privacy “absolutist”
 Does she have a point? Should businesses be taking
the hit if most of their customers are misinformed?
Discussion Questions
 Some companies rely on selling personal data to
remain in business.
 Do you think it’s worth it to accept a lower quality of service for
added protection for your privacy?
 What can be done to ensure that people understand the
implications what they are agreeing to (not just the words)?