The Los Angeles Times makes readers accept an arbitration clause and class-action waiver just to keep reading, terms the author argues are close to unenforceable under California privacy law.
Tech writer Cory Doctorow clicked a link to an LA Times article and hit a pop-up: press continue and you agree to arbitration, waive your right to a class action, and let the paper collect data through cookies and pixels.
He looked up the fine print: an 8,865-word privacy policy and a 7,103-word terms of service. He also found a counter-move buried in the terms, an email you can send within 30 days to opt out of arbitration.
Reading it, I just thought this idea that scrolling counts as signing a contract is a lot more annoying than any ad pop-up.
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