And the reason they don't is that web site terms and polices are generally long, often in confusing legalese, and would take the average person 8 days of reading to actually consume every one they come across in a single year (and that's actually just for privacy policies!). So if reading all those terms and conditions is so unlikely in the first place, how is anyone expected to be able to keep track of the changes and updates that companies often make?
Today, the Electronic Frontier Foundation is launching a new site called TOSBack, which monitors terms of service, user agreements, and privacy policies for many of the web's largest sites, including Amazon, Google, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, and Apple. In all, the site is currently tracking 44 policies for any sort of changes.
"Some changes to terms of service are good for consumers, and some are bad," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Fred von Lohmann in a statement. "But Internet users are increasingly trusting websites with everything from their photos to their 'friends lists' to their calendar -- and sometimes even their medical information. TOSBack will help consumers flag changes in the websites they use every day and trust with their personal information."
Tools like TOSBack are ultimately a good thing for users, since they'll help them become more aware of their rights (or lack thereof) when using popular web sites and services. Occasionally changes to web site policies are noticed, but more often users are never aware of potentially important changes to their legal relationship with the sites they use.