It improves transparency for consumers once they’ve signed up, although probably won’t break the habit of initially consenting without engaging in the detail
An innovative comparison tool: The French Government launched ‘Scripta Manent’, an online tool that tracks changes to terms and conditions of digital services (e.g. privacy policies). It currently covers 367 contracts across more than 150 services including all of the largest social networks.
How it works: The tool tracks the changes between different versions of a privacy policy or other terms of a service, by highlighting the words removed or replaced in the latest version. The tool uses an open database (Open Terms Archive) to which people can contribute, and automatically detects changes to each document. Consumers can be notified via email of any changes.
Will it help? The tool already has an extensive scope, and appears to be easy to use. However, it is unclear whether it will help consumers break the habit of ticking consent boxes without reading the conditions to which they are signing up, or if they will care enough to leave a service if they do not like the new conditions they are asked to accept.
Consumers do switch when they have immediately available alternatives: In January 2021, many consumers left WhatsApp after it updated its privacy policy. However, this was largely driven by extensive media coverage of consumers downloading alternatives such as Signal and Telegram. It’s unclear whether these services will continue to erode WhatsApp’s leading position in messaging services.
