March 22nd, 2004

A privacy policy that doesn't actively offend me

I’ve ranted before about privacy policies and how they don’t actually protect your privacy. (All they’re required to do is disclose the policy; there is no requirement that the policy must be any good.) Today I read MetLife’s privacy policy and found to my surprise that it does not actively offend me. It’s written in plain English, it’s well-organized, and it actually explains and limits the scope of each exception.

I have noticed how the word “terrorism” has turned into a “magic word” of late. Anything distasteful you want to do, just say you’re doing it to combat “terrorism” and people will give you the green light.

Author

Raymond has been involved in the evolution of Windows for more than 30 years. In 2003, he began a Web site known as The Old New Thing which has grown in popularity far beyond his wildest imagination, a development which still gives him the heebie-jeebies. The Web site spawned a book, coincidentally also titled The Old New Thing (Addison Wesley 2007). He occasionally appears on the Windows Dev Docs Twitter account to tell stories which convey no useful information.

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