For class this week, I read “Does Anyone Read the Fine Print? Consumer Attention to Standard-Form Contracts.” The short answer to that question is…no. Well, almost. A few people do, maybe…or at least, they skim it. But why does that matter? And what is there to be done about it? Let’s discuss.
What was this study about?
Before delving deeper, first I want to piece together what this study is (and isn’t) about. Though it’s a long read and provides plenty of explanation of the process behind the study, its scope is actually quite small. The authors state “…this paper limits its scope to assessing whether readership levels are consistent with the informed-minority hypothesis…” (Bakos et al. 7). They do note some other mechanisms, such as seller reputation, but their data doesn’t confirm or deny their relevance.
What’s the “Informed-minority hypothesis”?
It’s actually pretty important, since it has shaped laws and regulations regarding fine print contracts. This hypothesis states that a minority of buyers who actually read the fine print/are aware of what it means is enough to prevent sellers from using unfavorable fine print contracts. So, the threat of there being a few consumers who DO actually read those contracts and who could pick up on anything unsavory should be enough to discourage sellers from doing anything shady…at least, that’s the theory. But according to this paper…only one or two of every 1,000 shoppers (looking to buy computer software) actually access the fine print agreement. The amount who read it is even smaller. Based on these findings, the “informed minority” is much smaller than the required amount to make this hypothesis plausible.
What I find most alarming about the whole thing is that this study, published in 2014, was the first systemic study about the extent to which consumers read these fine print contracts. In other words, this theory which has been shaping laws and enforcement around fine print contacts has barely even been studied! That’s…worrisome, to say the least.
A Conversation on Fine Print and Privacy
As I’ve said, the scope of this study was limited. However, we can use it as a jumping off point to talk more about these fine print contracts. One type of fine print that was not the focus of this study but that is perhaps the most familiar to us is the “privacy policy.” In many cases, these contracts are presented as something called “click wraps.” These contracts appear on a user’s screen and require the user to click “I agree” before they can continue using the site (Bakos et al. 12). Sure, this is providing the user with the contract…but they have no choice about whether or not to agree to it if they want to continue using the site. Furthermore, just because they have access to the contract, it doesn’t mean they’re able to make sense of it.
According to Bakos et al., users expect reading fine print contracts to be “prohibitively costly,” i.e overly time consuming and for little reward (31). This is not surprising. Fine print contracts are long and written in complicated legalese that the average person has a hard time comprehending. Next time you get a privacy policy pop-up box, I encourage you to see if you can make sense of it. Chances are, it’s overly complicated and hard to parse. We’re giving away our data to these sites without any idea what they’re planning on doing with it. It’s a frightening thought, even if we’ve been doing that our whole lives without apparent consequence.
What’s the Solution?
This research suggests that the solution isn’t making it easier to physically pull up the fine print contracts. We could have probably guessed that; we’re bombarded with terms, unable to escape until we agree, and yet we still don’t read them. Bakos et al. believe that the solution lies in “…shortening and simplifying contracts, standardizing their terms, and providing a standardized summary…” (31). Make the contracts shorter and easier to understand and provide a summary that gives a user all they need to know. Even so, we’d still be forced to give away our data to websites in exchange for using them. However, perhaps if users were empowered to understand what is going to be done with their data and why, companies really would be more likely to offer fair terms.
Are the terms fair already? Well, reference to a different study in this paper states that most sellers’ contract terms are worse than those provided by default, “but not so bad that no information can be gained by becoming informed by them,” (29). That statement is not very transparent, but I guess they’re saying “the terms aren’t great, but you can usually figure out exactly where your data is going if you’re able to read them.” So, yeah, we really should make those terms readable. My guess is that the only way this will happen is if governing bodies pass laws on the matter. As it is, I can’t hire a lawyer to read every contract I agree to when I open my laptop.
Citations
Bakos, Yannis, et al. “Does Anyone Read the Fine Print? Consumer Attention to Standard-Form Contracts.” The Journal of Legal Studies, vol. 43, no. 1, 2014, pp. 1–35. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1086/674424. Accessed 12 Sept. 2023.
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