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Comment by whendoyoushrink

3 years ago

Standard TOS contract anyone can use, and any variations need individual sign off and consent per point.

Sites would then need to decide how many variations to enact, knowing full well every extra one reduces signups.

9 comments

whendoyoushrink

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sideshowb  3 years ago

Standard terms are a good idea. Wales just did this with (housing tenancy) occupation contracts

  • toyg  3 years ago

    The problem with standardization of anything in law is that inevitably it slows down innovation a bit. That's obviously not a problem with something like housing, but in tech it might be an issue.

    I'd rather have "ideological" bills that explicitly say companies can't take the piss, empowering judges to throw the book at them with liberal interpretations.

    • zaarn  3 years ago

      This isn't about tech though. It's about Terms of Service. The Legal Contract between the tech company and the user. I don't see where "innovation" comes into this other than disadvantaging the user.

      2 replies →

    • _visgean  3 years ago

      Do I need innovation in a subscription agreements? I dont think so. If I am paying X for service I dont need any innovative interpretation of what it means. I just want my service delivered..

    • another-dave  3 years ago

      > The problem with standardization of anything in law is that inevitably it slows down innovation a bit. That's obviously not a problem with something like housing, but in tech it might be an issue.

      Software development is the side where I'd expect the most slow-down (rather than EULAs) but if anything, I think standardisation removes friction from innovation — I'm much more likely to adopt your lib for example if you tell me it's MIT licensed rather than something you've written something a bespoke library for.

      Similarly, imagine if a new start-up creates a new Alexa competitor, say — I'd much prefer if they said "we treat your personal data as standard, under this commons licence. Then, we also have some niche requirements that are A/B/C and this is how they explicitly work", rather than pages long TOS that I need to go through with a fine-tooth comb to see if anything has been snuck in.