Media: CNET Interviews Hochhauser about Privacy Agreements and their Abuse

I read this piece by Rachel Konrad with some disquiet as I thought how often I had clicked the 'I Agree' button at the base of installation instructions without a glance, anxious to get on with the business in hand. Add that to plenty of research showing that users press buttons rather than read instructions when given a choice and one feels the publicity given to Mark Hochhauser's warnings is well overdue.

'The "I agree" frenzy has reached new levels as the popularity of file-swapping software mushrooms,' says Konrad. 'Earlier this month, millions of consumers downloaded the Kazaa file-swapping program, only to realize later that they had unwittingly agreed to install software that could help turn their computers into nodes for a peer-to-peer network controlled by a third company, Brilliant Digital Entertainment.'

The rest of the article is an interview with Hochhauser, who has been assessing the readability of online documents, particularly privacy agreements. Ironically, he praises Yahoo's new privacy policy statement for its simplicity and comprehensibility - though this is the same one that has angered users by violating their trust. Visit the related UN news story: Yahoo.com Users furious at Sudden Opt-Out Status.

Associated Link: CNET: Stop! Look before you click

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