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P13. Encryption of users’ private content

This indicator only applies to internet companies.

Can users encrypt their own content and thereby control who has access to it?

  • Private user content is encrypted by default; the company itself has no access. Possible score: 100
  • The company offers a built-in option to encrypt private content. Possible score: 67
  • The company’s terms or other policies explain that the user may deploy third party encryption technologies. Possible score: 33
  • No disclosure. Possible score: 0
  • The company’s terms or other policies prohibit encryption. Possible score: 0
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Guidance:This indicator is only applicable to Internet companies. Users entrust significant amounts of their content to online services. Companies should enable users to easily encrypt this data and dramatically increase its security. This indicator focuses on encryption of stored user content, not encryption of the transmission of content. For this reason, the indicator is only applicable to Internet companies.

Evaluation: This is a single-choice indicator, meaning researchers should only select one answer. The answer categories will be scored on a scale. The highest possible score is awarded to answer #1, and companies that meet it will receive full credit. Companies meeting #2 will receive partial credit (percentage to be determined), and companies meeting #3 will receive a smaller percentage of credit. Companies that receive answer #4 or answer #5 will receive zero credit for this indicator.

Potential sources:

  • Company terms of service or privacy policy
  • Company security guide
  • Company help center
  • Company sustainability reports
  • Official company blog and/or press releases

For more information, click here for a glossary of terms.

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