Terms And Conditions May Apply Summary

“Terms and Conditions May Apply” offers an illuminating look at privacy in the digital age, and the potential dangers of it as our online information (data) is shared with the government, and sold to the highest bidder. In the documentary, Cullen Hoback shows how those “terms and conditions” and agreed policies allows corporations to do things with our personal information that we could never imagine. What are we really agreeing to when we click “I agree”? Through Interviews with tech enthusiasts and futurists such as Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Google’s Chief Engineer Ray Kurzweil, Eric Schmidt, Christopher Soghoian and more, the documentary brilliantly examines and documents the erosion of online privacy and how the government and private
corporations can legally take away our privacy and our rights. Terms and Conditions are a set of documents that must be signed/agreed by the consumer in order for them to use the service. The significant truths revealed in the documentary is how the world is changing, and how these big companies/government agencies are a real threat to our privacy. Our privacy is compromised the moment we agree to use social media platforms. In addition, the documentary sends a thought provoking message saying to be cautious of what you are agreeing to and how those agreements could affect you. Platforms and websites that claim themselves to be “free” of charge are actually companies that use the information the consumers provide, to make money. The documentary analyses how the corporations took advantage of the Patriot Act that was enacted in 2001 after the 9/11 incident. The director further goes into detail on how websites have constantly shifted toward acquiring more, more information as time has passed since 9/11, and how this information can and is being revealed to the government on a regular basis. The documentary offers many disheartening and downright terrifying facts about these policies. It shows us how corporations make the terms and conditions uninviting to read, so that the users will have to simply agree to those terms in order to quickly proceed to the next step of the process. With statistics, stating that it would take roughly around 180 hours for an average LinkedIn user to read what’s hidden in fine print. In order to make these legal jargons “uninviting”, companies use specific, small, hard to read fonts in all caps, in order to make the contract look like a texture rather than writing it in plain English.
In “Terms and Conditions May Apply” interviews are conducted with sociologists, journalists who state that the internet has become an invaluable resource while simultaneously an intricate tool that can just as easily be used against people. Director Cullen Hoback elaborates on just what we are agreeing to and how it can be used against us. Recently, a company called “Game Station” changed their terms and conditions for one day, stating that “By using this service, you grant us your immortal soul, forever”. Of course, this was just a joke, but imagine if the consequences were much more serious? We simply do not know what we are agreeing to whenever we face the wall of eye-hurting texture like texts every time we sign up or update these services. Statistics noting that companies have lost $250 billion due to fine print lawsuits is just one of the examples of what could happen to you if you ignorantly agree to what was “hidden from plain sight”. The documentary is a much needed wakeup call for our generation. It is urgent without being alarmist, important without being
dry.
In “Terms and Conditions May Apply”, the director uses the media techniques such as sound/music, interviews, graphics and animations to convey the message effectively.
Cullen Hoback, narrates the film by himself which adds a more realistic feel to the film. The narration also helps the audience to absorb the information effectively as it is easier for the audience to follow the film. The filmmaker effectively uses verite footage (live action footage that is not staged i.e. footage that captures real life). The statistics about how the terms and conditions can affect an individual is effectively conveyed using symbolic graphics (graphs, charts, lines). The documentary features a handful of interviews conducted using the face-to-camera method in order to add more realistic vision to the film. It makes the audience feel as if the interviewees were talking directly to the audience rather than the interviewer Interviews in a documentary give the viewer a sense of realism, that the documentary maker’s views are mutually shared by another person or source, and thus more valid. The interviews were conducted mostly with influential people who are in the media field. The filmmaker confronted Mark Zuckerberg to say what he wanted to say.The interview is a common documentary technique. It allows people being filmed to speak directly about events, prompted by the questions asked by the filmmaker. The director uses scenes from cartoons and TV shows to make the audience feel comfortable
and to make them relate to the subject matter better. It also serves as a comedic relief in the documentary. The graphics, animations and typography used in the documentary were wonderful; it really complimented the well thought out and the structured film. In the documentary, the narrator often asks rhetorical questions to better the understanding of the topic. It gives the audience something to think about and take home. Cullen Hoback worked closely with John Morgan Askew (Sound Director) to create the soundtracks of the film. The tracks used adds a suspense to the film. Animations were used a lot in the documentary. It contributed greatly to the overall understanding of the topic. The media techniques were used effectively to construct the message and the difference between the real world and the digital world.