Margaret Jane Radin
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691155333
- eISBN:
- 9781400844838
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691155333.003.0010
- Subject:
- Law, Company and Commercial Law
This chapter considers “private” reform ideas or market solutions for improving the normative and democratic acceptability of boilerplate terms. It begins with a discussion of one potentially ...
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This chapter considers “private” reform ideas or market solutions for improving the normative and democratic acceptability of boilerplate terms. It begins with a discussion of one potentially important “private” incentive: reputation. Some firms are likely to be especially cognizant of the need to maintain good relationships with their users, and therefore responsive to the threat of reputational harm. This is most likely to be true for firms that have users who are reasonably savvy about issues of user rights, such as data privacy or information copying. After outlining the conditions conducive to consumer pushback, the chapter examines other private or market approaches, such as those involving rating agencies, seals of approval, and certifications. Finally, it looks at automated filtering or “machine bargaining,” and especially the implementation of filtering systems for personal computers.Less
This chapter considers “private” reform ideas or market solutions for improving the normative and democratic acceptability of boilerplate terms. It begins with a discussion of one potentially important “private” incentive: reputation. Some firms are likely to be especially cognizant of the need to maintain good relationships with their users, and therefore responsive to the threat of reputational harm. This is most likely to be true for firms that have users who are reasonably savvy about issues of user rights, such as data privacy or information copying. After outlining the conditions conducive to consumer pushback, the chapter examines other private or market approaches, such as those involving rating agencies, seals of approval, and certifications. Finally, it looks at automated filtering or “machine bargaining,” and especially the implementation of filtering systems for personal computers.
