Enforcement reality - experience of consumer associations

Finn Lützow-Holm MyrstadHead of Section, Digital PolicyTwitter: finnmyrstadFinn.myrstad@forbrukerradet.no

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Rights in digital services

Challenge

Consumers give away of personal information and rights without knowing or realising the

potential consequences

• Our work: We analyse whether the terms of the most used digital services are fair:

– Ability to unilaterally change terms?

– Respect of copyright?

– Do the services treat your information securely?

– Do they sell user information to third parties?

– Etc.

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Rights in digital services

• The “soft” approach of the Norwegian Consumer Council:

1. Dialogue with company or business (develop guidelines etc.)

2. Media (sometimes first)

3. File complaint to relevant authority (Consumer Ombudsman, Data Protection Authority, Competition Authority)

4. As a final measure, we go to court

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2006: Norwegian Consumer Council and Digital Rights

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2011: Norwegian Consumer Council and Digital Rights

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The study of popular cloud storage services

• 7 services selected based on market share and unique features

• Purposely kept the study short as we did not want to replicate the length of the Terms and Conditions

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Content ownership and protection against data loss

“Even if your phone goes for a swim, your stuff is always safe in Dropbox and can be restored in a snap.”

Dropbox: "Safe and secure”

"iCloud helps give you peace of mind."

"Protect your files with SkyDrive”

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Privacy

• Terms must clarify what their “right to review content” means

• Seen in relation to Google’s and Microsoft’s broad licenses makes this a much more serious issue

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Amendment of the terms, account termination

• Apple has unfair terms that must be changed

• Difficult to resolve a dispute with services not bound by European law

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Complaint regarding Apple iCloud’s terms

Full text of the complaint available at http://www.forbrukerradet.no/_attachment/1175090/binary/29927

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International press response

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Complaint regarding Apple iCloud’s terms

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Complaint regarding Apple iCloud’s terms

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Response by Apple

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Privacy: 2014 review

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Privacy: 2015 review

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2014: Facebook

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Benefits and disadvantages with the «soft approach»

• Benefits

– Much less time-consuming

– Development of better standards through dialogue possible (net neutrality guidelines in Norway has worked)

– Complaints handled by competent authority frees up resources with us once complaint is filed

• Disadvantages

– Lack of jurisprudence / case law

– Time lost if issue is important if issue is not resolved