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
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
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