Will Facebook Make Privacy Policy Understandable?
Facebook announced this week that it’s seeking user comment on a proposed redesign of its privacy policy that’s meant to make the policy easier to understand while bringing the world of legalese-smothered documents into the widget-filled realm of the 21st century.
In a post to Facebook’s site governance section, the company’s privacy team offers a look at its “first attempt” to re-organize, rewrite, and add interactivity to the current policy, which is essentially your standard mass of small black text.
Among other potentially interesting re-imaginings, the proposed redesign features an interactive tool intended to demonstrate how profile data is put to use in serving advertisements (click “Personalized ads” and scroll down to “Try this tool”). The tool puts Facebook members into the shoes of someone creating and targeting an ad. It’s not clear if users would deem it an educational aid or a nuisance in practice, but that seems to be part of why the potential redesign is being put to public scrutiny in this way.
