ost disclosure statements are not designed to be read; they are designed to be clicked on. But some companies actually want their customers to read and understand the statements. They don’t want customers who might sue, and, just in case, they want to be able to prove that the customers did understand the risks.
So the leaders in disclosure statements right now tend to be financial and health-care companies – and also space-travel and extreme-sports vendors. They sincerely want to let their customers know what they are getting into, because a regretful customer is a vengeful one.
That means making disclosure statements readable. I would suggest turning them into a quiz. The user would not simply click a single button, but would have to select the right button for each question. For example:
What are my chances of dying in space?
A) 5%
B) 30%
C) 1-4% (the correct answer, based on experience so far; current spacecraft are believed to be safer.)
Now imagine:
Who can see my data?
A) I can.
B) XYZ Corporation.
C) XYZ Corporation’s marketing partners. (Click here to see the list.)
D) XYZ Corporation’s affiliates and anyone it chooses.
As the customer picks answers, she gets a good idea of what is going on. In fact, if you're a marketer, why not dispense with a single right answer and let the consumer specify what she wants to have happen with her data (and corresponding privileges/access rights if necessary)? That’s much more useful than vague policy statements. Suddenly, the disclosure statement becomes a consumer application that adds value to the vendor-consumer relationship.