U.S. lawmakers want the terms of service to be summarized in simple language

Unless you are a lawyer, chances are you have never read the full terms of service of the site. There is a simple reason for this. Too often they are too long and difficult to break down. Some services offer concise statements, but they are the exception, not the norm.

A bipartisan group of MPs made up of MP Lori Trahan and Senators Bill Cassidy and Ben Ray Luján of Louisiana and New Mexico want to change that. They introduced – it is abbreviated TLDR. , the proposed law would require Internet companies to include a “diet label style” summary at the top of their terms of service agreement and would allow researchers to easily review contracts using XML tags. It would also require them to detect any recent data breaches, as well as to provide information on whether the user can delete their data and how they will do so.

“For too long, general service contracts have forced consumers to either‘ agree ’to all company terms or completely lose access to a website or app. “No negotiations, no alternative and no right choice,” said Representative Trahan. The group cites a which found that it would take the average American 76 business days to read all the terms of the service contracts for which they agreed to use their favorite Internet services as a basis for the purposes of the TLDR Act. If passed, the law would authorize the Federal Trade Commission and the state attorney’s office to implement it.