Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA-03), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee, partnered with Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA)  to reintroduce the bipartisan Terms-of-service Labeling, Design and Readability (TLDR) Act, legislation requiring that online companies make their terms-of-service contracts more accessible, transparent, and understandable for consumers.

“Consumers shouldn’t have to wade through pages of dense legal jargon just to use a website or app,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “Right now, companies force users into an all-or-nothing choice: agree to everything or lose access entirely. No negotiation, no alternatives, no real choice. They exploit this imbalance by burying critical terms in confusing contracts, knowing most people don’t have the time to sift through them just to send a message or make a quick purchase. The TLDR Act puts power back in consumers’ hands by requiring companies to provide clear, transparent summaries of their terms – something the American people overwhelmingly support.”

“Americans deserve the ability to make informed decisions online without having to navigate confusing pages of legal jargon,” said Senator Luján. “Far too many companies take advantage of consumers by burying critical details about their data policies and shield themselves from legal liability in complicated terms-of-service agreements. The TLDR Act will end these harmful practices and help empower and protect consumers. Informing consumers is a bipartisan issue, and I’m proud to join my colleagues to provide real choice online.”

“Nobody is going to read pages of legal jargon. Companies should be required to provide terms of service that people without a law degree can understand,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Americans have the right to know how their data is collected and used.”

Terms of service agreements, sometimes referred to as “terms-of-use” or “end user license agreements,” outline how a consumer may use a website or application. These legal documents have increased in length and complexity, leading to fewer Americans reading the terms of service before agreeing. A 2012 study found that it would take 76 work days for the average American to read the agreements for the websites and platforms they routinely use, and a 2022 poll found that nearly 9 out of every 10 Americans have agreed to a company’s terms of service without reading the contract first.

To address the potential for abuse with long, complicated terms of service agreements, the TLDR Act requires that online companies, with the exception of small businesses, include a nutrition label-style summary table at the top of their terms of service and tag the full, long-form terms with XML tags, making the agreements more accessible and understandable for consumers and researchers alike. The bill also mandates that the summary inform consumers about how their data is collected and shared, including by requiring companies to produce a graphical representation of how their consumer data is shared with third parties.

A digital copy of the TLDR Act as reintroduced can be accessed HERE. A full list of endorsing organizations and quotes of support can be accessed HERE.

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