Service agreement sees internet users consenting to give up a kidney

If you are a regular online shopper, you probably scoured Cyber Monday deals with eagle eyes. But did you also carefully go through the privacy policies you were consenting to before clicking “I Agree” on those business-to-consumer websites and apps?4

People tend to ignore the fine print in online Terms of Service (ToS) contracts, according to York University Professor Jonathan Obar. In a recent study he co-authored, participants aged 50 and up expressed caution and concern for their privacy yet ignored the fine print, the communications and media studies researcher points out.

“We conducted an experimental survey to evaluate older adults‘ engagement with an online consent process to assess their privacy behaviors and found that a majority rushed through, including many who chose the clickwrap—agreeing to the privacy policy without accessing it,” says Obar, who researches information and communication policy in York’s Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.