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Internet Users' Second-Party Exposure
Detailed Analysis - 9: Zoho

Version of 24 December 2010

Roger Clarke **

© Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd, 2010

This document is at http://www.rogerclarke.com/EC/IU-SPE-A9-Zoho.html

Detailed Analysis

Zoho's Terms appear to distinguish between "content created by you" and "content stored in your user account".

The Terms grant permission to use "the content of your user account", but "solely as required for the purpose of providing the Services to you". The Terms do not provide a licence to use either category of data "or Zoho's commercial, marketing or any similar purpose", "unless specifically permitted by" the user.

The Terms can be unilaterally amended, without notice. (The specific expression is "by electronic mail or by publishing the changes on the website"; hence the option of a 'general notice' is available to Zoho, and this is not 'notice' as that term is appropriately understood). The user is purported to have agreed to the amended Terms if they continue to use the service, even if the change did not come to their attention. Only the current version of the Terms is visible. It dates from early 2010.

Changes to Terms could apply to all content, including content submitted under earlier Terms; and hence the assurances that exist could be withdrawn at any time, without notice.

Users are at risk of Zoho taking advantage of users' content under the following circumstances:

• Zoho interprets both "the content of your user account", and "solely as required for the purpose of providing the Services to you" in ways that are harmful to the user.
• For example, the meanings of key terms are sufficiently unclear that it might be tenable for Zoho to assert that all content is 'content of your user account' and that 'the purpose of providing the Services' can be interpreted very broadly, e.g. to assist in selecting advertisements and perhaps also to disclose content to advertisers
• All of the following occur:
• Zoho exercises its right to unilaterally change the Terms, in order to expand its existing rights to use users' content, or to create additional rights to use users' content; and
• users overlook the change made. This is possible because:
  • Zoho undertakes that the change will be effected by changing the document in situ, but
  • Zoho may choose to publish a 'general notice' rather than actually give notice by email, and hence detecting that a change has been made may require continual comparison of the date of the current copy of the document against an archived copy of the date of the old document; and
• Zoho exercises its old or new rights in a manner that is harmful to the user

Extracts from the Terms of Service

Terms at http://www.zoho.com/terms.html, dated 16th April, 2010

Mirrored at http://www.rogerclarke.com/EC/IU-SPE-T-Zoho.html

Terms of 9 December 2010, mirror downloaded 14 January 2011

Modification of Terms of Service

We may modify the Terms upon notice to you at any time. You will be provided notice of any such modification by electronic mail or by publishing the changes on the website http://zoho.com/terms.html. You may terminate your use of the Services if the Terms are modified in a manner that substantially affects your rights in connection with use of the Services. Your continued use of the Service after notice of any change to the Terms will be deemed to be your agreement to the amended Terms.

Data Ownership

We respect your right to ownership of content created or stored by you. You own the content created or stored by you. Unless specifically permitted by you, your use of the Services does not grant Zoho the license to use, reproduce, adapt, modify, publish or distribute the content created by you or stored in your user account for Zoho's commercial, marketing or any similar purpose. But you grant Zoho permission to access, copy, distribute, store, transmit, reformat, publicly display and publicly perform the content of your user account solely as required for the purpose of providing the Services to you.

Author Affiliations

Roger Clarke is Principal of Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd, Canberra. He is also a Visiting Professor in the Cyberspace Law & Policy Centre at the University of N.S.W., and a Visiting Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the Australian National University.

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The content and infrastructure for these community service pages are provided by Roger Clarke through his consultancy company, Xamax. From the site's beginnings in August 1994 until February 2009, the infrastructure was provided by the Australian National University. During that time, the site accumulated close to 30 million hits. It passed 65 million in early 2021. Sponsored by the Gallery, Bunhybee Grasslands, the extended Clarke Family, Knights of the Spatchcock and their drummer

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Created: 9 December 2010 - Last Amended: 24 December 2010 by Roger Clarke - Site Last Verified: 15 February 2009
This document is at www.rogerclarke.com/EC/IU-SPE-A9-Zoho.html
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