...
1. Users could read the policy once and determine their own standards for what terms they will accept. Currently, policies are not read at all (by most users) because they are each unique, lengthy, and in complex legalese terms. A standard policy could be appended with simple language explanations of the various terms and conditions. This would facilitate understanding and – once the model is in widespread use – make it worthwhile for users to review it.
2. Thereafter they will only need to verify that other sites employing the model policy conform to the user's standards.
3. Standardization could lend itself to iconic representation of terms which would further simplify end-user review.
4. Standardization would facilitate competition among offerors. If one site/vendor uses the model and conforms to the user's preferences, it may be preferred over another site/vendor that has a custom policy. If two sites/vendors use the model policy and offers similar services as another, the user may use the differences in the selection of standard terms to choose the site/vendor.
5. By establishing a basis for competition among sites/vendors by the stringency of the privacy terms that they offer, overall privacy can be expected to increase.
note (from Iain) - the Information Sharing Group will be developing equivalent 'information sharing agreements' as seen from the individual perspective; i.e. 'I will let you have data type X for purpose Y, subject to constraint Z'. If the two workgroups collaborate then we'd have the ability to icon based, machine readable policies agreements at both ends of the data sharing pipe.
Consent and Anti-Patterns
...