'Wrap Contracts and Privacy

Abstract

Websites often use ‘wrap contracts - clickwrap and browsewrap agreements - which include provisions that permit websites to track and exploit customer information. In this paper, I propose that the law conceptualize a website user’s act of inputting or uploading information as constituting a limited license to the website to use the information for very expressly defined purposes. Websites that desire to use the information for purposes other than these narrowly defined ones should craft online agreements so that the user/licensor must physically indicate agreement with the nature and scope of the license by clicking once for every line containing a right or use permitted by the licensee. Incorporating a technological burden or hassle negatively affects the user’s experiences and may give less intrusive companies a competitive advantage over more intrusive ones.

Keywords: Online Agreements, Contracts, Shrinkwrap, Browsewrap, Clickwrap, Privacy, Internet