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This is a catch-22. I see this mostly on US sites in regards to cookies. Something along the lines "by using this site, you agree to our terms of service and u

This is a catch-22. I see this mostly on US sites in regards to cookies. Something along the lines "by using this site, you agree to our terms of service and use of cookies". You'll definitely see a banner like this on paywalled news sites. Thing is, I got to the site from a link from say HN. I haven't agreed to anything, let alone seen the ToS, let alone had a chance to affirm or unaffirm to the conditions until I've already used the website. Thus, they assume my tacit approval of their ToS. The only way to not agree to the ToS is to never have visited the site to begin with. Yet, you cannot know the ToS unless you visit the site, and even if you knew the exact link to their ToS, that is still construed as usage, and once again assumed implicit approval. Additionally, if I'm accessing publicly available material without being authenticated, you cannot prove I ever agreed to your ToS. I don't work on scrapers or anything, but I abhor the idea that I have implicitly entered into a contract by virtue of visiting a public, unauthenticated, webpage. Want me into a contractual ToS? Make me sign up and sign in.

martin_a 7y ago
> Something along the lines "by using this site, you agree to our terms of service and use of cookies". This is something I have seen getting a lot of rise since the introduction of the GDPR on German/European sites. The law text of the GDPR on the other hand is kind of strict in that you really have to agree to something by clicking and this "accept by doing nothing"-method is explicitly not valid. Curious to see when the first people will go to court against this.
- krageon 7y ago
  People will not be going to court. It is up to the data protection agency of each respective country to build a case based on the available evidence (eg have they been informed, what was their response, have they been given adequate time to compensate, did they know they were breaking the law, etc).
  - martin_a 7y ago
    You're right on this. I think we need a legal test case or whatever to stop this loophole, that's what I wanted to say.
- drewmol 7y ago
  I’ve always assumed those “by using this * you agree to *” statements are meant for someone else. Presumably they’ve read and agree with whatever is I’m skipping.

martin_a 7y ago

> Something along the lines "by using this site, you agree to our terms of service and use of cookies". This is something I have seen getting a lot of rise since the introduction of the GDPR on German/European sites. The law text of the GDPR on the other hand is kind of strict in that you really have to agree to something by clicking and this "accept by doing nothing"-method is explicitly not valid. Curious to see when the first people will go to court against this.

krageon 7y ago
People will not be going to court. It is up to the data protection agency of each respective country to build a case based on the available evidence (eg have they been informed, what was their response, have they been given adequate time to compensate, did they know they were breaking the law, etc).
- martin_a 7y ago
  You're right on this. I think we need a legal test case or whatever to stop this loophole, that's what I wanted to say.
drewmol 7y ago
I’ve always assumed those “by using this * you agree to *” statements are meant for someone else. Presumably they’ve read and agree with whatever is I’m skipping.