Internet Governance and Platform Rights
Terms of Service
Terms of service are contractual rules a platform or website sets for acceptable use and the relationship with users.
Read full definitionGlossary topic
Terms, Privacy & Consumer Rights
Clauses, permissions, billing rules and privacy language people accept without understanding — educational only, not legal advice.
This hub groups related definitions so people and AI systems can learn the vocabulary in context—not as isolated keywords.
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Privacy and Personal Data
Privacy Policy
A privacy policy explains how an organization collects, uses, shares, and retains personal data.
Read full definitionLegal and Compliance
Mandatory Arbitration
A requirement that parties must arbitrate disputes, typically waiving the right to a court trial.
Read full definitionLegal and Compliance
Class Action Waiver
A contract term that prevents customers from joining or bringing class-action lawsuits.
Read full definitionShopping and EcommerceSubscription risk
Auto-Renewal
Auto-renewal is a subscription practice that charges again by default when a term ends unless the customer cancels.
Read full definitionConsumer Rights and Protections
Dark Pattern
A dark pattern is a user-interface design that steers people into choices they might not otherwise make, often against their interests.
Read full definitionLegal and Compliance
Limitation of Liability
Contract language capping how much a party can be required to pay if something goes wrong.
Read full definitionPrivacy and Data Rights
Personally Identifiable Information
Personally identifiable information (PII) is data that can identify a specific individual, alone or combined with other information.
Read full definition311 published definitions in this topic
- “As Is” ClauseAn “as is” clause says the product or service is provided in its current state without extra promises about quality beyond what law still requires.
- Account ClosureAccount closure ends access to a gambling account, with rules for remaining balances and self-exclusion overlap.
- Ad TechThe advertising technology stack that auctions attention using personal data, cookies, and identifiers.
- Adequacy DecisionAn adequacy decision is an official finding that another country offers essentially equivalent data-protection standards.
- Adverse MediaNegative news or public reporting about a person or company used as a compliance or reputational risk signal.
- Age GateA control that asks users to confirm age before accessing restricted content or purchases.
- Aggressive MarketingAggressive marketing uses undue pressure, harassment, or coercion that undermines free consumer choice.
- AI Training RightsAI training rights are license terms that allow a company to use your content or data to train or improve machine-learning systems.
- AI Training With User DataAI training with user data means prompts, files, conversations or other user content may be used to improve or train machine-learning models.
- Alternative Dispute ResolutionAlternative dispute resolution (ADR) resolves disputes outside traditional court litigation.
- AnonymizationAnonymization irreversibly transforms personal data so the individual is no longer identifiable.
- ArbitrationIn payments, arbitration is the card-network process that decides unresolved chargeback liability after earlier stages fail.
- Arbitration ClauseAn arbitration clause requires disputes to be resolved in private arbitration rather than in court, often limiting class actions.
- Arbitration Opt-OutAn arbitration opt-out is a limited process that lets some users reject a mandatory arbitration clause within a stated deadline and method.
- Auto-RenewalAuto-renewal is a subscription practice that charges again by default when a term ends unless the customer cancels.
- Automated Decision-MakingAutomated decision-making is deciding about a person using automated means without meaningful human involvement in the specific decision.
- Automatic Renewal LawAn automatic renewal law regulates how subscriptions renew and what disclosures and cancellation paths are required.
- Behavioral AdvertisingBehavioral advertising selects ads using observed past behavior such as browsing, apps, or purchases.
- Billing CycleA billing cycle is the period between statement closing dates used to calculate balances and interest.
- Billing DisputeA billing dispute is a challenge to a charge’s accuracy, amount, or merchant performance—not always the same as claiming fraud.
- Binding Corporate RulesBinding corporate rules (BCRs) are approved internal data-protection policies for transfers within a multinational group.
- Biometric DataBiometric data is personal data from specific technical processing of physical, physiological, or behavioral characteristics.
- Breach CorpusA breach corpus is an aggregated set of leaked records used by security tools—or criminals—to check whether an identity appears in past incidents.
- Breach NotificationBreach notification is the required notice to regulators and/or affected people after a personal-data breach.
- Breach Notification DutyBreach notification duty is a legal or policy requirement to tell affected people and regulators after certain personal-data incidents.
- Breach RecencyBreach recency is how recently a leak occurred or was disclosed—fresher incidents often raise more urgent password and MFA actions.
- Broad IndemnificationBroad indemnification is a clause asking you to cover the company’s losses, legal costs, or claims arising from your use—or sometimes from wide related events.
- Browser FingerprintingBrowser fingerprinting identifies or tracks a browser by combining technical attributes rather than relying only on cookies.
- Browsewrap AgreementTerms claimed to bind users merely by using a site, often weaker than explicit clickwrap consent.
- Bundled ConsentBundled consent asks you to accept multiple purposes—or multiple documents—in one action, so you cannot easily agree to some parts and refuse others.
- Buyer ProtectionPlatform or payment policies that help consumers recover funds or resolve disputes when purchases go wrong.
- Cancellation FrictionCancellation friction means the company makes ending a subscription harder than starting it—through extra steps, limited channels, or retention flows.
- Cancellation PolicyTerms explaining how customers can cancel orders, bookings, or subscriptions and what fees may apply.
- Cancellation RightA cancellation right is an entitlement to end a contract or subscription under statutory or contract rules.
- CCPACCPA is California’s Consumer Privacy Act, a U.S. state privacy law giving residents rights over certain personal information businesses collect.
- CCPA Opt-OutA CCPA opt-out is a consumer request to stop sale or sharing of personal information under California privacy law.
- ChargebackA chargeback is a card-network dispute process in which the cardholder’s issuing bank seeks to reverse a settled card transaction.
- Chargeback RightsChargeback rights are card-network and bank dispute paths consumers can use for certain unauthorized or problematic charges.
- Charged After CancellationCharged after cancellation is when a subscription or recurring service bills you again despite a cancellation you believe was completed.
- Choice of LawChoice of law is a contract clause selecting which jurisdiction’s laws govern disputes.
- Class ActionA lawsuit brought by representatives on behalf of a larger group of people with similar claims.
- Class Action NoticeA class action notice informs eligible people about a collective lawsuit and their options to participate or opt out.
- Class Action WaiverA contract term that prevents customers from joining or bringing class-action lawsuits.
- Clickwrap AgreementA contract formed when a user clicks “I agree,” often binding if notice is reasonably conspicuous.
- Combo ListA combo list is a file of email:password pairs assembled from breaches and used in credential stuffing attacks.
- Company Stopped RespondingCompany stopped responding is when a business that once replied goes silent on your order, refund, or complaint.
- ComplianceCompliance is an organization’s practice of meeting applicable laws, regulations, and internal policy obligations.
- ConfirmshamingA dark pattern that guilts users into accepting an option by wording the decline path in a shaming way.
- ConsentConsent is a freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous indication of agreement to processing.
- Consent BannerA consent banner is a UI that requests permission for cookies or tracking—sometimes designed to manipulate choice.
- Consent FatigueUser exhaustion from endless cookie and permission prompts that leads to careless acceptance.
- Consent ManagementSystems and workflows for collecting, recording, and honoring user choices about data processing and cookies.
- Consent OrderA negotiated regulatory or court order that a party agrees to follow, often including remedies and restrictions.
- Consequential DamagesConsequential damages are follow-on losses—like lost profits or extra costs—caused by a problem, beyond the immediate direct loss.
- Consumer GuaranteeA consumer guarantee is a legally required assurance that products or services meet acceptable quality and match their description.
- Consumer LawStatutes and regulations that protect buyers against unfair, deceptive, or abusive commercial practices.
- Consumer NoticeA consumer notice is required or expected information given to people about rights, risks, fees, or privacy practices.
- Consumer OmbudsmanA consumer ombudsman is an independent complaint body that can help resolve disputes with regulated firms.
- Consumer ProtectionConsumer Protection covers laws, rights, and practices that help people avoid unfair, deceptive, or abusive marketplace treatment.
- Consumer Protection LawStatutes and rules that prohibit unfair, deceptive, or abusive business practices toward buyers.