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Free Expression

Terms & Conditions: Should ignoring fine print be illegal?

For this week’s T&C, we’re going to veer from the regularly scheduled programming – parsing a single terms of service or privacy policy – to focus on a more pressing matter, an issue that concerns all terms of use, of every Internet-connected service in existence.

Right now, a bill is floating around in the House of Representatives that would make it explicitly illegal – a felony – to violate certain terms of service. Sound crazy? That’s because it is – but it’s also real. Which is why we need to talk about it. Below, I’ll explain what the situation is, and what we should all try to do to help.