Tessa Loftus, privacy communications expert, joins the podcast to debate the effectiveness of privacy policies. They discuss the lack of reader engagement with privacy policies and the need for clearer communication. The limitations of fair and reasonable privacy laws are explored, highlighting the importance of clear and understandable policies. They advocate for including communication professionals in policy writing and emphasize the need for organizational accountability.
The ongoing tension in privacy law reform between empowering consumers and pushing obligations on companies to ensure fair practices has not been fully resolved.
Privacy policies are ineffective communication tools and should be rewritten in plain language, prioritizing user-friendly language and clear structure.
Deep dives
The tension between privacy law focusing on empowering consumers versus pushing obligations on companies
The podcast discusses the ongoing tension in privacy law reform between focusing on empowering consumers by providing them with the right information for making choices versus pushing obligations on companies to ensure fair and reasonable practices. The Privacy Act report tries to address both approaches by moving away from consent towards fair and reasonable practices, but it hasn't fully resolved the tension.
The ineffectiveness of privacy policies as communication tools
The podcast highlights the ineffectiveness of privacy policies as communication tools to inform consumers. It cites statistics that show a majority of people do not read privacy policies, and even those who claim to read them often fail to understand their content. Privacy policies are often written by lawyers and focused on managing legal risk, rather than being user-friendly and written with the purpose of effectively communicating privacy practices to consumers.
The need for clear and understandable privacy communications
The podcast emphasizes the importance of clear and understandable privacy communications. It suggests that privacy policies should be written in plain language, avoiding jargon and legalistic terms. Layering information and using a clear structure can help consumers navigate privacy policies more effectively. By involving communications professionals in the process and prioritizing user-friendly language, organizations can create privacy policies that are more accessible and comprehensible to the average consumer.
This week, Jordan sits down with elevenM privacy communications expert Tessa Loftus to debate whether we should just give up on privacy policies.
Historically, privacy regulation has leant heavily on transparency and consumer choice - the idea that if we just give consumers the right information, then they can take control of their privacy. But the reality is that most privacy policies are an unintelligible to most people, and we've all lost control.
So what's the answer? Can businesses communicate better about privacy? Or should we give up on consumer choice and put the onus on businesses to act 'fairly and reasonably'.