ToS;DR Criteria
ToS;DR is a grassroots initiative to analyze and classify the terms of service on the Web on behalf of the users. It’s a collaborative project that takes a lot of energy, so you’re welcome to help them. 
This post introduces the categories and topics used by ToS;DR to classify terms of service. We shall use these to help our process of improvement. You’re welcome to quote from here and comment. The categories and topics (questions) come straight from https://edit.tosdr.org/ and reflect the upcoming v2 of the system. They’re reproduced here for the purpose of improving our terms of service.
For each category I will go like this:
- check the existing terms and report
- write what we want to achieve
- incorporate comments
Anonymity and Tracking https://tosdr.org/topics.html#track
Are you being spied on?
Changes to the Terms https://tosdr.org/topics.html#changes
Notice of Changing Terms
Q: Are users notified when terms change?
A: Yes, that’s the purpose of this topic.
Q: Are they given enough time to find out what changed and discuss this with each other before deciding whether to continue to use the service under the new terms?
A: Yes, that’s the purpose of this topic.
User Involvement in Changing Terms
Q: Are changes proposed as a request for feedback, or imposed unilaterally as a take-it-or-leave-it deal?
A: We’re negotiating here in this very topic.
User Choice
Q: How much can YOU decide?
A: It mostly depends on YOUR engagement. We also have a formal non-profit association behind it.
User Information
Transparency and education
Equality of Right (not yet linked)
Is everyone treated the same?
Governance
Your relationship with the service and the community
Easy to read
Q: Are the terms easy to find and well written?
A: Well, not really 
Jurisdiction and Governing Laws
Q: Where can you sue, or be sued, for breaching of the rules?
A: In California, which is why we must change the terms, as we’re based in EU.
Law and Government Requests
How do services deal with government requests?
Law Enforcement and Due Process
Q: What are the law enforcement standards followed by the service?
A: First, we try to understand what’s going on, second we inform our users, and then we see what to do legally. There’s no ‘gag order’ in the EU, and if there were, we’d rather close the service and move away from Europe than comply to such fascist order.
‘Ownership’
What happens with the content you generate on the service?
Rights to Leave the Service
To avoid lock-in and stay in control
Suspension and Censorship
Can they end your use of the service at any time?
Third Parties
What 3rd parties are involved and how the service deals with them.
Uncategorized
Business Transfers
Is your data a business asset?
Cookies
and related technologies
Data Portability
Q: Can you get your data back?
A: Yes! You Own Your Own Words (YOYOW). Go to your profile page and click ‘Download All’.
Guarantee
Some services will guarantee you certain features, or explicitly reject any guarantee.
Logs
Q: How long do they keep them?
A: Too long. The server is in Germany… What can we do to minimize privacy issues for our users?
Personal Data
Can you control your privacy?
Scope of the Copyright License
Do you grant only the necessary rights?
Waving Your Rights
What kind of rights do you give up on?
