Sorry, You Still Need to Read the Terms of Service Docs
Does anyone read the Terms of Service for anything they buy or subscribe to? And I don’t mean “look at it to acknowledge its existence”; I mean sit down with a cup of coffee (maybe a decanter, depending on the length of the document) and go through everything the manufacturer or company wants you to know. We don’t blame you if you don’t, but you should.
You may have heard of the Website Terms of Service ; Have n’t read it recently. The concept of “affordable terms of service” is gaining popularity thanks to all the privacy issues that major technologies have faced in recent times, and Wired’s recent profile has brought this third-party site back to attention ( it launched in 2012). Nice to see that ToS; DR is still online. However, it is time for the industry to borrow the page from the ToS approach; DR and make your documents as easy to read as this site because ToS; DR shouldn’t do everything for them – and you shouldn’t trust it.
A tl; dr for ToS; DR
ToS; DR takes these absurdly long terms of service documents and tries to summarize their most important points so you can quickly see what you are doing without spending half a day deciphering the legal language. For example, consider the listing for GitHub:
- + You do not grant github a copyright license
- – Changes may occur at any time, sometimes without prior notice.
- – You must protect GitHub and hold it harmless.
- + Your personal information is used for limited purposes
- – Your account can be blocked and your data deleted at any time for any reason.
That’s all. You can click the GitHub list on ToS; DR to see the cited examples the site has used to create each of these little markers, but here’s my ToS stumbling block; DR. While the site is useful for understanding how software, sites and services run their business and how it might affect you, trying to find the latest Terms of Service document seems to be a problem for ToS; DR.
Keeping track of ToS updates is hard work
Let’s take a look at the GitHub ToS list again; DR that doesn’t seem to have been updated since 2012. When you click to find more information on ToS; DR, you’ll see quotes that were probably taken from some version of the ToS GitHub – not found in his latest doc.
For example, try searching the ToS; DR quoted “We do not claim intellectual property rights” from the first bullet point on the site about how GitHub handles the content you upload to it. This quote no longer exists on the ToS GitHub.
This does not necessarily mean that GitHub has changed the way we approach your content; just updated the language a little. Here is a quick comparison of the quoted ToS text; DR with the newest GitHub text:
ToS; DR “We do not claim intellectual property rights in the materials you provide to the Service. Your profile and uploaded content will remain yours. However, by setting […] public viewing of your repositories, you agree to allow others to view and create your repositories. “
GitHub “You retain ownership and responsibility for Content that you create or own (“ Your Content ”). If you post anything that you have not created yourself or do not own the rights, you agree that you are responsible for any Content you post; that you will only post Content that you are entitled to post; and that you agree to fully comply with all third party licenses in relation to the Content you post. “ – Section D, User Content, third subsection, Content Ownership, Hosting and Licensing Rights.
(Information about repositories on GitHub is in a separate section on licenses granted to other users.)
You must read the Terms of Service yourself.
While ToS; DR captures the gist of what GitHub is talking about, the summary site does not seem to be detailed. And then there are inconsistencies. Take for example this quoted statement from GitHub which is ToS; DR marks as bad: “You agree to provide your full legal name when registering with the service. This does not prevent you from using a pseudonym. “
I went through all three ToS documents; DR linked in his resume – GitHub Terms of Service , Privacy Statement and Security Documentation – and found no requirements for a full legal name. In fact, ToS GitHub now says the exact opposite:
“You must provide a valid email address to complete the registration process. Any other information requested, such as your real name, is optional unless you accept these terms on behalf of the legal entity (in which case we need more information about the legal entity) or if you choose a paid account in which case for billing additional information will be required. “
Is this a big deal? Not really, but sort of. This is a good reminder that résumés can be useful for deciphering unwieldy ToSs, but you should really go over the document yourself to make sure you are getting the most accurate and up-to-date information on company policies right from the source.
More importantly, you (and your friends) have to pester companies you care about to rewrite their crappy, sleep-inducing Terms of Service documents in plain language. GitHub takes this exact approach by providing useful, easy-to-understand summaries for every important topic. For example, here’s a rundown of the seven-point section “User Content”:
“ Short version: you own the content you create, but you grant us certain rights to it so that we can display and share the content you post. You remain in control and responsibility of your content, and the rights you grant to us are limited to those we need to provide the service. We have the right to remove content or close accounts if necessary. “
Beautiful.
Facebook – everyone’s favorite punching bag for privacy (and rightfully so ) – took the same approach after the big bang at Cambridge Analytica last month. As the company wrote on its blog in early April:
“It’s important to show people in black and white how our products work – this is one way people can make informed decisions about their privacy. Therefore, we are offering updates to our terms of service that include our obligations to everyone who uses Facebook. We explain the services offered in a language that is easier to read. We are also updating our data policy to better clarify what data we collect and how we use it on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and other products. “
The difference between the two Facebook Terms of Service documents is dramatic to say the least.First , you might actually want to read; on the other hand , you can prepare your pillow before cracking it.
There is absolutely no reason every company should not follow the ToS; DR approach: Easily formulated (and shorter) Terms of Service that provide you with all the information you need without bothering you to death. We thank ToS; DR for a try, but you don’t have to rely on a third-party tool to keep you updated on the terms and conditions of your favorite companies. It’s time for the sources of these official documents to fill the gap.