Click to agree with what? No one reads terms of service, studies confirm

Apparently losing rights to data and legal recourse is not enough of a reason to inspect online contracts. So how can websites get users to read the fine print?

The words on the screen, in small type, were as innocent and familiar as a house key. "By clicking Join," they read, "you agree to abide by our terms of service." Hundreds of college students tapped the big green "Join" button to become members of NameDrop, a new social network. But according to paragraph 2.3.1 of the terms of service, they'd agreed to give NameDrop their future first-born children.

Only a quarter of the 543 students even bothered to look at the fine print. But "look" is not "read": on average, these more careful joiners spent around a minute with the thousands of words that make up NameDrop's privacy and service agreements. And then they all agreed to them.