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Thesigning-without-readingproblem

EurobarometerSpecial447ononlineplatforms,2016

• Thinkingaboutthetermsandconditionsononlineplatforms,whichofthefollowingbestdescribesyoursituation?

Thesigning-without-readingproblem

Studyonconsumer’sattitudestowardonlineTermsandConditions(EuropeanCommission2016)

Thereading-without-understandingproblem

Theeffectsofthephenomenon

StudyonconsumersattitudestowardonlineTermsandConditions(EuropeanCommission2016)

Wedon’treadthetermsbecausewedon’tcareaboutourrights(e.g.privacyparadox)orbecausetheyaretoolong,tooopaque,andnon-negotiable?

ThebetterthequalityoftheTerms,themoreuserswillreadthem

Studyonconsumers’attitudestowardonlineTermsandConditions(EuropeanCommission2016)

WhytheTermsaresobad?

• UsuallycopiedandpastedfromtheUSversions

• Lawyerswhodraftthemwilltrytosavetheclientfromanypotentiallawsuit,liability,etc.

• Imbalanceofpower+masstransactions=nonnegotiation

• Socialengineering

Socialengineering:“Don’tmakemethink!”

Socialengineering:theonlineexperiencemustbedesignedinsuchawaythattheusergoeson“autopilot”mode.

Thefirstprincipleindesigningwebsitesisusability,whichhasbeendescribedwiththeworryingslogan“don’tmakemethink”(Krug2005)

TheInternetofPlatformsAnempiricalresearchonprivateorderingandconsumerprotectioninthesharingeconomy

GuidoNotoLaDiegaandRossanaDucatoGenevaInternetL@wResearchColloquium- 23June2017

Dr.RossanaDucatoUCLouvainandUSL-B

P.I.

ProfessorAlainStrowelUCLouvainandUSL-B

ProfessorSariDepreeuwUSL-B

Dr.GuidoNotoLaDiegaNorthumbriaUniversity

Externaladvisor

Supervisors

Theteam

Toreadornottoread

Whyconsumersdonotreadtheboilerplate?

• Where isthecontract?(Radin2013)• Consumerssufferfromvariousformsanddegreesofilliteracyandinnumeracy (Radin2013;Busch2016)• Lengthymandatorydisclosuresseemstobeineffectiveinacontextwhereconsumersderiveinformationfromicons,pictures,experiencefromotherpeers(OECD2016)• Theactivityofreadingisextremelytime-consuming andessentiallyuselesssinceitisimpossibletonegotiatewiththestrongestparty(Elshout,Elsenetal.2016)• Consumersdonotcareaboutcontracts(Ben-Shahar2009,PlautandBartlett2011)

Thesharingeconomy

...andtheIoP

• Communication,ADigitalSingleMarketStrategyforEurope(2015)• CommunicationonOnlinePlatformsandtheDigitalSingleMarket(2016)• CommunicationontheMid-TermReviewontheimplementationoftheDigitalSingleMarketStrategy(2017)

“alackoftransparency astohow[theplatforms]usetheinformationtheyacquire,theirstrongbargainingpowercomparedtothatoftheirclients,whichmaybereflectedintheirtermsandconditions”(Commission,2015)

THE“LEGALS”MAZE

• Platformsarefillingthegapsleftbehindbylegislationinaninconsistentway• Thelackoftransparencyandfairnessisepitomizedinthe“legals”

• theprivateorderingimposedbyplatformsthroughabundleofToS,privacypolicy,enduserlicenseagreements,normsofthecommunity,copyrightpolicy,usergeneratedcontentpolicy,nondiscriminationpolicy,promotiontermsandconditions,guidelinesforlawenforcement,guidelinesforthirdpartydatarequest, patentpurchaseprogram,unsolicitedideasubmissionspolicy,firearmsprohibitionpolicy,zerotolerancepolicy,serviceanimalpolicy,apppermissions,other…………

Theresearchhypothesis

• Consumersacceptthelegalswithoutreadingthem,notbecausetheydonotcareabouttheirrights,butbecausetheplatformsarenottransparent

• theopacityoflegals,coupledwithanintricatecorporatestructureandacomplexsupplychain,rendersimpossiblefortheconsumerstofind,readandunderstandthem

Anexample

• 50legals• 92,171words• Approximatereadingtime:10hoursand20minutes• 9permissionsrequiredfortheapp• Complexcompanystructure

• “AcceptingtheUserT&C,oneiscontractingwithfourcompanies,UberLondon,UberBritannia,UberB.V.,andUberNIR.TheyarecontrolledbyUberTechnologies,Inc.,whichdoesnotappearinthecontract.MostoftheT&C,however,referstoanon-existentcompanycalledUberUK,which<shallmeaneachofUberLondon,UberBritannia,andUberNIR>.Inalawsuit,whowouldbethedefendant?”(NotoLaDiega,2016)

TheAwarenessbydesignapproach

•Usingtechnology,law,andbehaviouralsciencestoempowertheuser

• B.awareapp:atoolformakingusersawareofrisks,rights,andobligations

• ThePoP (PlatformonPlatforms):atoolforsharingtheuser’sexperience

A“- bydesign”taxonomy

Privacyby

design

Ethicsby

design

NudgingPro-ethicaldesign

• Article25,GDPR• The7FoundationalPrinciples(Cavoukian)

• Toembedsocialvaluesthroughoutthedesignprocess(Friedman)

• Thaler andSunstein• Structuralnudging• Informationalnudging(Floridi)

thearchitectureshapesonlytheinformationabouttheactualoptionsavailable,relyingonhumanintelligenceandexplicitinterestsasthepragmaticmotivationforaction(Floridi)

B.awareapp

Law

BehavioralSciences

Technology

• Theappwillcheckthelegalsandalerttheconsumeraboutanypeculiarcondition• Inparticular,unenforceableandunfairterms

• Theappwillrate the“legalquality”oftheT&C,privacypolicy,etc.

• Theappwillbeuser-centered• Lackofempiricaldataonconsumers’preferences(Helberg,2013)

LABELLING

RATING

(BecherandUnger-Aviram,2010)

(Ben-Shahar,2009)

ThemethodologyAnempiricalandcomparativestudy

Objectoftheanalysis

Sectors

Countries

• Legaland• Nonlegalrepresentation

• Mobility• Housing• Food

• Belgium• France• Italy• UK

Thanksforyourattention!guido.notoladiega@northumbria.ac.ukrossana.ducato@uclouvain.be