“Clik-Thru” Terms of Service: Blockchain smart contracts to improve consumer engagement?

Abstract

Technology entrepreneurship has enabled the widespread commercial adoption of internet technologies. These internet technologies have reformed consumer commercial experiences towards an online environment. The pervasiveness of the online experience raises the importance of protecting the consumer in the online context. Online services are typically delivered under “Clik-Thru” terms of service developed by the service provider alone; and accepted by the consumer with a single click and little if any consideration. The successful adoption of new internet-based technologies and commercial practices has encouraged more technology entrepreneurship in a positive feedback cycle. Efforts at improved readability are insufficient to engage consumers with these “Clik-Thru” contracts. This paper argues that some efforts at increasing consumer engagement with the “Clik-Thru” terms of service may be a useful and tractable step towards improved consumer experiences. Blockchain smart contracts appear to provide promising capabilities to enable greater consumer engagement with “Clik-Thru” contracts.