Keeping Up With User Policies (Part II of II)

From the Oct. 2009 Issue

[Part II of a II Part Series - Read Part I]

If you’re like most consumers, you simply click through the license agreement when you use a program and never bother to read the terms of use on websites you use for work. If you don’t think it matters, how would you feel about taking that same approach to other contracts, such as mortgages and car loans?

In my last column (www.CPATechAdvisor.com/go/2496), I discussed the potential legal issues that modern technology users face, even though most don’t even recognize them. In our professional and personal lives, we sign contracts every day that we don’t even read, under the assumption that,

A) The agreement hasn’t changed since the last time we used the technology; and,
B) That the company whose program or service we are using would not risk their business relationship by implementing policies that would anger its users.

DUE DILIGENCE?
These contracts are the user agreements and terms of use policies that we agree to, without reading, every time we use a hosted program, website, online email or traditional programs with automatic update features. This is naïve. And if these websites or programs are used for work involving sensitive client data (what client data isn’t?), then you need to evaluate whether or not you are performing your due diligence.

Is it enough to assume that your vendor would never do you wrong? In most cases, especially with established technology vendors, they probably would not. But when is probably an answer to whether you are performing due diligence with regard to your client data? So the answer is no, but what can be done about it?

The biggest challenge when using websites or hosted programs is that the user agreements can change at almost any time, and with little or no notice. And as I stated last month, nobody has the time to read these agreements prior to each use, especially considering the legal jargon used. I am a major advocate of hosted programs. They are more convenient for end-users as well as technology vendors. Likewise, Web 2.0 websites provide great resources for professional use and for online recreation. But how can we be informed users and consumers of these technologies without opening ourselves and potentially our employers up to potential liability?

THE CLEARINGHOUSE
A possible solution is a clearinghouse that would alert users to changes in the terms of service, privacy policies and other agreements for technologies they use. This would not be a government entity, but rather an organization funded voluntarily by the technology sector. I’ll address the funding issue in a bit, but first I need to define the how and what of the organization.

HOW IT WOULD WORK FOR TECHNOLOGY USERS
If a person or business is concerned about potential changes in the agreement terms they have with technology companies, especially hosted programs and websites, they could sign up online to be notified of changes to particular sites or programs they use, which they would note on selection lists. All that would be required is an email address, to which alerts would be sent. The user would determine how frequently they wanted to be alerted.

The clearinghouse would also include ratings of the significance of these changes, say from Level 1 being the least notable changes to a terms of use or privacy agreement (minor edits, clarification, etc.) to Level 5, which would represent the most significant changes that could impact many users. This would allow users to also determine the level at which they wanted to be alerted (as in, “How big a change to the user agreement do you want to be notified about?”). When a consumer would receive an alert, the email would provide links to view the previous and new versions of their agreement, and let them decide whether it was of concern.