Social Media Should Simplify Terms and Conditions, UK Parliamentary Committee Recommends

The terms and conditions on social media websites should be radically simplified, the UK Parliament’s Science and Technology Committee has advocated, in a report released on Friday. MPs argue that the complex user agreements in place presently obscure how users’ data can be used. The report calls on the UK government, in conjunction with the Information Commissioner, to create a set of standards and guidelines to make social media terms and conditions more user-friendly.

“Let’s face it, most people click ‘yes’ to terms and conditions contracts without reading them, because they are often laughably long and written in the kind of legalese you need a law degree from the USA to understand, “ says Andrew Miller MP, chair of the Science and Technology Committee. “Socially responsible companies wouldn’t want to bamboozle their users, of course, so we are sure most social media developers will be happy to sign up to the new guidelines on clear communication and informed consent that we are asking the government to draw up.”

The report seems to ignore the legal obligations that social media sites must operate under, and the fact that, unless the website is based in the UK, parliament has no power or jurisdiction to enforce such guidelines.

Source: TNW