 | Draft status This core of this draft is currently being reviewed by the task force for approval. |
Executive Summary
The goal of the TOS/EULA task force of the DataPortability Project, is to create a range of standard terms and license clauses, in order to improve communication between people and service providers. We plan to provide standard marks and icons so that people can determine at a glance whether the product meets their needs, and the product owners can be confident that customers actually understand and agree to the terms.
We do not seek to enforce any particular business practice or technology. Following the example of the Creative Commons, the goal of this task force is to identify and name key concepts that help people and service providers understand what each expects from the other. These will be supported by legal documents that can be referenced or included in TOS and EULA agreements as additional modules. A tool will help the product or site owner choose among the options, and will provide appropriate icons and language after they have answered a few questions.
So What's the Problem?
The legal relationship between a person and a product is set out in documents called Terms of Service (TOS) and the End Use License Agreement (EULA). Presumably, anyone using a product has read and agreed to these, but that's rarely true. The problem with these documents is that they are long, complex, and written in legal language that is opaque to a general audience. Because of this, few people actually read them.
This state of affairs is bad for both parties because it leaves questions in the person's mind about what they've actually agreed to, and also calls into question the site's ability to enforce the letter of the agreement. The global nature of the internet makes this even more complicated, as the user can rarely be sure what is enforceable.
People should have a reasonable understanding of what they can expect from a product before they begin using it, and also what the product expects from them in return.
How Will We Fix It?
We encourage the industry to move away from a model where products try to trap customers by making it difficult to extract data or use it with other products. Sites should be able to advertise their positive stance about data portability, and users should be able to use this as part of their decision. We will provide the standard terms that make this possible.
We believe that the next model is one where services are interconnected and work together to satisfy a customer. Desktop linked to web service, drawing data from the cloud. All mixing and mingling. What you do shows up where you want it.
In this world, we use iTunes with our contact list on Facebook, which Plaxo syncs with Google, and pulls pictures from Flickr.
Before signing up, a user should know:
- Do I need to create a new identity for this site, or can I use an existing one?
- Do I need to import information into this product, or can I have it refer to information that's stored someplace else?
- Can this site accept updates that I make on other sites?
- If I update information, is that information stored on this site or can I ask this service to store it elsewhere?
- Can I have other sites use the information that I've entered here?
- Can I download a copy of everything I've provided to this service?
- Can I download information that others have provided to the service?
- Will this site delete my account and all associated data upon my request?
A set of icons and terms will let them know at a glance how the site has answered each of these questions.
What Kinds of Products are We Talking About?
When data portability is mentioned, people's thoughts naturally go to address book and social network products. This makes sense, as these are very popular and address book portability shows up in the news from time to time.
Social networks are only part of the story, though. What if you want to read a document in your word processor, but that document was created using another word processor? Can you move a playlist from one player to another – even if all of your music files are in a standard format?
Note that we're not insisting that all providers agree on common formats for every bit of data. This would be counter productive, and we believe that companies should be allowed to innovate with their products however they see fit.
Defining Terms
Data
In the context of the policy, two primary types of data and one derivative data type that are considered within scope. The primary data types are standalone data objects. The derivative data type can be considered a standalone data type but its relevance is only if it has a relationship with one of the primary data types. For example, an image is considered a primary data typen("media") whereas the title and tags ("meta data") associated with the picture derivatives.
PRIMARY
- Identity data are representations of an entity. They make an entity definable and recognisable, in terms of possessing a set of qualities or characteristics that distinguish it from entities of a different type.
- Media data are expressions by an entity. They generate an experience for those that interact with it, such as (but not limited to) interpretation, entertainment and reflection.
DERIVATIVE
- Meta data add context to other data. They facilitate the understanding, characteristics, and management usage of data. An item of metadata may describe an identity object, a medium, or a collection of data including multiple media and identity data.
Portability
Data can be moved across different systems or it can be simply accessible from another system.
Due to the variety of ways that data can be reused, three metaphors have been created to reflect the experience of portability. They are used to reflect the relationship a user has with a service
1) Open Arms is when a network service creates a relationship with a user.
2) Ever Fresh is when a network service and the user maintain their relationship.
3) Graceful Exit is when a network services ends its relationship with a user.
Implied within the metaphors are five specific types of way that data can be reused by a user. These vary depending on the situation, but can be used as a guide to complying with the metaphors.
They are:
- Importability - the ability to import data from another data store
- Accessibility - the ability to access data from another data store
- Exportability - the ability to export a copy of data into another data store
- Syncrony - the ability to syncronise a data store with another data store. Can also be regarded as automated exportability and importability.
- Deletion- the ability to remove data from a data store
They can be roughly mapped to the following metaphors:
Open Arms
- importability
- accessibility
Ever Fresh
- Exportability
- Syncrony
Graceful Exit
- Deletion
Additional discussion points
- How does this link to the Kantara User Driven Personal Information group work? (Elias)
- Does the language map with the Identity Commons lexion? (Elias)