You Can't Afford to Read the Fine Print

No one bothers to read websites' online privacy policies. But if Americans did—just once a year for each site they visit—it would take 200 hours per person, amounting to $365 billion worth of lost time, Ars Technica reports. That may all be theoretical, but the researchers behind the study say it points to the ridiculous impenetrability of such policies.

"Websites need to do a better job of conveying their practices in usable ways, which includes reducing the time it takes to read policies," one analyst said. If companies can't do better, "regulation may be necessary to provide basic privacy protections." (More internet privacy stories.)