3 ms·

I would like laws that would force companies to disclose the bad side of what they are doing. When they ask if you want to share what you type or say with them

I would like laws that would force companies to disclose the bad side of what they are doing. When they ask if you want to share what you type or say with them, in order to improve the experience and for you to get more relevant suggestions or more accurate spell checking or whatever, they only focus on the positives. But that's not enough. I want them to say that your delicate and private conversations might leak and be used for nefarious purposes by disgruntled employees, state agencies, hackers or future owners of that data, because that's the truth. Much like how cigarettes packs have graphical warnings on them. I'd like that very much, because as an ex-smoker I can tell you that those work. But of course, it would hurt their business to admit it, so they'll never do it willfully.

cm2187 10y ago
Or like the financial industry, which products are deemed too complex to the average client. They must disclose and inisist on the risks of a product. Windows pretty much checks the box in term of complexity to the average user.
- Kristine1975 10y ago
  >They must disclose and inisist on the risks of a product. By giving me a 50+ pages brochure. Just like EULA's hide the nasty stuff among huge amounts of text. Sure it's better than nothing, but still far from perfect IMO.
  - cm2187 10y ago
    No no. If you trade something on margin or borrow money, in many countries like in the UK, all the marketing material has to clearly state the risks. All mortgage ads have a big banner "if you do not make your payments your house may be repossessed". A derivative contract with a mid-size company is now deemed missold if the marketing material doesn't highlights adverse or worst case scenario. These are not font 6 footnotes in the terms and conditions.
    - sievebrain 10y ago
      Yes, and what great nanny-stateism. The only people whom that big warning helps are people who don't know what a mortgage actually is, yet are planning to take one out anyway. I'm sure such people exist in very small numbers but this is how you get "Warning: may be hot" on coffee cups. Where do you draw the line? Surely someone who walks into a bank and says "I'd like a mortgage" should be expected to know what repossession is?
      - FireBeyond 10y ago
        And yet in the US look at any prescription drug ad, where there's this ugly extended component of the ad that details dozens of possible issues, which to your logic would be the job of the physician (and I agree), not the advertising.

cm2187 10y ago

Or like the financial industry, which products are deemed too complex to the average client. They must disclose and inisist on the risks of a product. Windows pretty much checks the box in term of complexity to the average user.

Kristine1975 10y ago
>They must disclose and inisist on the risks of a product. By giving me a 50+ pages brochure. Just like EULA's hide the nasty stuff among huge amounts of text. Sure it's better than nothing, but still far from perfect IMO.
- cm2187 10y ago
  No no. If you trade something on margin or borrow money, in many countries like in the UK, all the marketing material has to clearly state the risks. All mortgage ads have a big banner "if you do not make your payments your house may be repossessed". A derivative contract with a mid-size company is now deemed missold if the marketing material doesn't highlights adverse or worst case scenario. These are not font 6 footnotes in the terms and conditions.
  - sievebrain 10y ago
    Yes, and what great nanny-stateism. The only people whom that big warning helps are people who don't know what a mortgage actually is, yet are planning to take one out anyway. I'm sure such people exist in very small numbers but this is how you get "Warning: may be hot" on coffee cups. Where do you draw the line? Surely someone who walks into a bank and says "I'd like a mortgage" should be expected to know what repossession is?
    - FireBeyond 10y ago
      And yet in the US look at any prescription drug ad, where there's this ugly extended component of the ad that details dozens of possible issues, which to your logic would be the job of the physician (and I agree), not the advertising.