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Is Privacy Policy Language Irrelevant to Consumers?

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  • Lior Jacob Strahilevitz
  • Matthew B. Kugler

Abstract

This article reports the results of two experiments in which large, census-weighted samples of Americans read short excerpts from Facebook's, Yahoo's, and Google's privacy policies, which are at issue in high-stakes privacy class-action lawsuits. Subjects were randomly assigned to read language from either vague policies, some of which had been adjudicated insufficient to notify consumers about the companies' practices, or explicit policies. Though many experimental subjects read these privacy policy excerpts closely, subjects who saw the explicit policies did not differ from those who saw vague policies in their assessment of whether their assent to the policies would permit the corporate practices at issue. Subjects generally stated that agreement to either vague or explicit language authorized companies to collect or use their personal information, even though consumers regarded these corporate practices as intrusive. These experiments show that courts and laypeople can understand the same privacy policy language quite differently.

Suggested Citation

  • Lior Jacob Strahilevitz & Matthew B. Kugler, 2016. "Is Privacy Policy Language Irrelevant to Consumers?," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 45(S2), pages 69-95.
  • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlstud:doi:10.1086/689933
    DOI: 10.1086/689933
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Alessandro Acquisti & Leslie K. John & George Loewenstein, 2013. "What Is Privacy Worth?," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(2), pages 249-274.
    3. Zev J. Eigen, 2012. "Experimental Evidence of the Relationship between Reading the Fine Print and Performance of Form-Contract Terms," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 168(1), pages 124-141, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gregor Dorfleitner & Lars Hornuf & Julia Kreppmeier, 2023. "Promise not fulfilled: FinTech, data privacy, and the GDPR," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-29, December.
    2. Jo-Ann Pattinson & Haibo Chen & Subhajit Basu, 2020. "Legal issues in automated vehicles: critically considering the potential role of consent and interactive digital interfaces," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-10, December.
    3. Jin, Ginger Zhe & Wagman, Liad, 2021. "Big data at the crossroads of antitrust and consumer protection," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    4. Omri Ben-Shahar & Lior Jacob Strahilevitz, 2016. "Contracting over Privacy: Introduction," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 45(S2), pages 1-11.
    5. Gregor Dorfleitner & Lars Hornuf & Julia Kreppmeier, 2021. "Promise not Fulfilled: FinTech Data Privacy, and the GDPR," CESifo Working Paper Series 9359, CESifo.

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