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By: A. Lotufo  We’ve all scrolled, researched, and looked through the internet. Whatever you choose to do in the vast, digital world, it is certain that you have agreed to a website’s Terms & Conditions at least once. You probably didn’t think much of it – there’s a long list of things you are agreeing to (which I doubt you’ve fully read, considering most of them have around an 18-minute reading time) and at the bottom you’ve clicked “I agree”. But here’s a question: what are you agreeing to?
When you accept Terms & Conditions, you are accepting a legally binding contract. Consequently, many cybersecurity professionals would advise reading the whole of the contract before agreeing to it to be fully understanding of the terms you are accepting, and whether that will impact you negatively or not. Despite that, a Deloitte survey consisting of 2,000 US consumers revealed that only 9% of consumers read the Terms & Conditions before consenting to them. And for people aged 18-34, only 3%. ProPrivacy.com also executed a test to see whether consumers read the Terms & Conditions or not. For this test, they initiated a survey with 100 participants, and upon entry, they would have to accept Terms & Conditions. Out of the 100 participants, only 19 clicked on the page leading to the terms. Even worse – only 1 person read through it with enough attention to realize it was requesting for the user to allow drones to watch over their homes. In 2017, another test by a company named Purple was executed. 22,000 people, while signing up for public Wi-Fi, had to accept Terms & Conditions. The Terms & Conditions demanded 1000 hours of community service and included a clause which offered a reward for whoever read it. Out of 22,000 people, 1 person claimed it. Your data is being constantly used to benefit companies, websites, and more. But there is only 1 person that controls that data – and that person is you. Unless you actively allow brands, apps, and more to have access to what you are doing online, to your personal information, and more, they cannot do so. To conclude, read the Terms & Conditions; you are signing a binding contract when you click “I Agree”, so it’s important to understand what you are committing to.
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By: V. Srur I am sure most of you have opened a website and they gave you those huge pop-ups with multiple files to read and agree on a set of “terms and conditions” in order for you to locate what you want. But do you always read them or you have no idea what your consenting to?
By: M. Gilchrist Since humans have existed, we have always set a basis of rules and norms between each other for our survival. This could be applied to over 2 million years ago when humans only chance at survival was to hunt as a people, if we were to hunt or try to survive by ourselves, we would die almost instantly. The only way for us to pursue huge animals in the Ice age was through to our ability of teamwork, for this to work we would also need certain standards.
By: L. Roschel  Now, most users blindly hit “Accept” without glancing at the walls of text, thousands of words and paragraphs filled with complex legal jargon, followed by restrictions, permissions, and conditions. The simplicity of scrolling down until the desired button became more evident and common, society got used to ignoring all those clauses that grant excessive data collection privileges or waive consumer rights. However, how the habit of ignorance reached us is a mystery.
Science-fiction movies warned us of dystopian futures where unchecked technology indeed enslaved humanity, like The Terminator, The Matrix, and Blade Runner painted pictures of worlds where humans lost control of their digital creations, resulting in unimaginable universes, with several dangers running free. A while ago, people worried about privacy, security, and the consequences of agreeing to a company’s fine print without reading it. Nevertheless, look around, how many people distribute photos of their faces, hence AI can create a professional profile, expose their personal information, or even guarantee access to the camera, microphones and cell phone gallery for an app or site that they just installed. Saying it like that, I bet it sounds serious, but honestly, how many times have you done this without realising the consequences? A 2018 Deloitte survey found that 91% of consumers never read the terms before accepting, just because we created an illusion of trust. For example, before you go to bed, you probably put your phone on charge because you know that if it's dead the next day, tomorrow is over. We ask Google to save our passwords, and we use the same password for millions of other accounts, and we still get furious if we've been hacked. When we are children, we ask why for everything, we even cry if we hear someone say that the world will end in billions of years, because we had no perception of things, and this is normal, since we acquire this over time. We get used to seeing people say that it is not necessary to read the Terms and Conditions, many of us see our parents just agree to the clauses and move on, and we learn that this is the standard. With technology increasingly present in our daily lives, realising its benefits and how it makes our lives easier, that past fear has become a distant fiction, reducing the concern. But because this presence is growing so fast, we must become more aware of our actions on the internet, what we do, what we allow and what we access. In an age where technology moves faster than regulation, I will leave you with a question to reflect on a little: if the Terms and Conditions were truly so useless to be ignored and left aside, why would several professionals have spent hours and days planning and creating them? By: I. Krakowiak Friendship is one of the most valuable parts of life, but no one hands you a guidebook on how to be a good friend—or what to expect in return. Unlike apps or websites that require you to click “I agree” before continuing, the terms and conditions of friendship are unspoken, often learned through trial, error, and time.
By: M. Bitran Growing up is something no one truly prepares you for. When you are young your dream to become an adult happens slowly, then, all of a sudden. As a child, the world feels simple - days are filled with playing, imagination, and a sense that everything will somehow be okay. Your biggest concerns might be sharing toys or having to go to bed early. But as you grow older, these terms begin to change.
By: N. Jannuzzi  Every time we download an app, buy something online or even sign up for a website we are all asked to one thing: Agree to the Terms and Conditions. However, most of us don’t hesitate and continue to scroll through those endless paragraphs and click on “Accept” and continue doing whatever we are doing. Nevertheless, have you ever stopped to wonder “What exactly am I agreeing to?”
So why don’t we read them? Let’s be honest, many of us do think they are quite boring, as they are rather long, confusing and full of complex legal terms. We also quite often make the mistake of trusting these companies, but maybe by reading this article you might change your mind. You may not believe it, however some companies have tried to sneak ridiculous clauses into their own Terms and Conditions! Some examples include Amazon’s Zombie Apocalypse rule. Amazon once had a rule in their game software terms and conditions, stating that all rules would be lifted if a zombies took over the world. It was meant to be a joke, however it quickly raised concerns about legal documents and its relevance to people. Another example was made by a store called Gamestation, and in one of their legal documents, they stated a rule that was that anyone buying agreed to give their immortal souls, it was supposed to be an April Fool’s Joke. Yet, many felt threatened. Finally, many companies have recently tried to add in their terms difficult cancellation polices, which tend to aim in an older public who might have some difficulties with that. However not all companies used these Terms for bad: a company once wrote in their terms that anyone that was using their Wi-Fi, would have to perform a good deed, such as giving someone a compliment etc., and many did! A company also offered free money to whoever read their terms. Companies have been known to hide those ridiculous, sneaky and unfair clauses to their legal terms. Some might do them as a joke like you can see in the examples stated above. However, even though it might be boring and sending a message of no harm, it’s always good to read those Terms & Conditions and keep an eye out to avoid real consequences and serious issues. By: I. Krakowiak Why is it that naps are totally acceptable for kids, but once you hit adulthood, suddenly a midday snooze is "lazy"? Let’s be real: naps are elite, and they deserve way more respect. In fact, a short nap can be the secret weapon to productivity, creativity, and just being a functional human being.
By: S. Gebara As the world evolves and technology advances, the nostalgic smell of a brand-new book becomes just that—a memory. The comforting feeling of flipping through physical pages, watching your progress unfold, or holding a book that’s been weathered by time is becoming less common. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
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