Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Terms and Conditions May Apply (2013)

Director: Cullen Hoback
Run Time: 80 min.
Call Number: KF1263.C65 T47 2013


The title of Terms and Conditions May Apply is unlikely to excite, but the content of this quietly blistering documentary should rile even the most passive viewer. . . . Investigating our casual surrender of privacy rights every time we click the 'Agree' button on those dense (and typically unread) online user contracts, the director Cullen Hoback outlines the real-life dangers of digital heedlessness. As the film illustrates, a random tweet or innocent Google search could summon a SWAT team to your door or transform you into a suspected terrorist. . . . Actual horror stories aside, this concise and lively summary of the many ways corporations, law enforcement and government agencies gather, share and use our information—assisted by digital giants like AT&T and Google—is creepily unnerving. 
—Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times