CHAPTER 8: COMPARISONS – PRIVATE SECTOR ACTIVITY
out and anonymisation.
effectiveness.26
However, these have arguably now lost much of their
Consent
8.85.
The significance of online consent can easily be over-stated. The issue in the context
of social media platforms was examined by the House of Commons Science and
Technology Committee. Witnesses observed that signing forms “is often not an act
of informed consent”,27 that “people need to know what they are signing up to”,28 and
that “everyone clicks ‘Yes’”.29 Witnesses were particularly critical of the complexity
of terms and conditions, describing them as “more complex than Shakespeare”.30
The Committee concluded that “As a mechanism for showing users have provided
informed consent, so that organisations can process incredibly personal data, terms
and conditions contracts are not fit for purpose”.31
8.86.
In 2014, the Article 29 Working Party suggested that Google amend its privacy policy
so as to avoid “indistinct language” and obtain consent “in a clear and distinct
manner”.32 A study of Facebook’s 2015 Data Policy concluded that it was unclear “to
what extent user data is shared with other entities such as ‘Facebook Companies’,
‘Third Party Partners’ and ‘Customers’, nor what the exact identity is of these
entities”.33
8.87.
There have been some changes: following an ICO investigation and negotiation with
Google, which concluded that Google’s privacy policy did not give enough information
to customers on how and why their data was collected, the ICO said:
“This investigation has identified some important learning points not only for
Google, but also for all organisations operating online, particularly when they
seek to combine and use data across services. It is vital that there is clear and
effective information available to enable users to understand the implications
of their data being combined.”34
Google amended its Privacy Policy in December 2014 and February 2015.
8.88.
Yet concerns remain: in 2014 Facebook altered information posted on users’ home
pages, and found it could make people feel more positive or negative through a
26
V. Mayer-Schonberger and K. Cukier, Big Data: A Revolution that will transform how we live, work and
think, 2013.
Responsible Use of Data, HC 245 (November 2014), para 40.
Ibid. para 41.
Ibid. para 44.
Ibid. para 45. Researchers at the University of Nottingham found that Google’s 2013 terms and
conditions were more difficult to understand than both Beowulf and War and Peace. Researchers
used a browser plug-in called Literatin to carry out the comparison. See “Google’s terms and
conditions are less readable than Beowulf”, The Conversation website, 17 October 2013.
Ibid. p.3.
Letter from the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party to Google on Google Privacy Policy and List
of Possible Compliance Methods, 23 September 2014.
B. Van Alsenoy and others, “From social media service to advertising network: A critical analysis of
Facebook’s Revised Policies and Terms”, Draft 31/3/15, p.14.
See the press release on the ICO website: https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/news-and-events/news-andblogs/2015/01/google-to-change-privacy-policy-after-ico-investigation/.
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
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