Promises and Privacy: Promissory Estoppel and Confidential Disclosure in Online Communities

You can find a PDF copy of the paper in its entirety here.

Online communities have become a valuable resource on the modern web and can range in topics and uses.  Woodrow Hartzog examines the issue of privacy in these communities where vital personal information is often given out in order to receive support or candid information exchanged in relationship building.  Hartzog further examines the use of promissory estoppel to determine if its inclusion in website Terms of Service (TOS) can provide a mutual safety net between all parties.

• Technological solutions for information protection are possible.  The easiest of which are privacy controls within the site.
• Promissorial estoppel, or the ability of one party to be held accountable for backing out of a contract when the second party is at detriment for adhering to the agreement, can be used through a third-party beneficiary doctrine.
• Third-party beneficiary doctrine extends promssory estoppel to third parties that agree to the TOS contract on the website.
• Law can then confidentiality between website members.

The use of promissorial estoppel in combination with a third-party beneficiary doctrine, and the accountability this creates to law and the potential enforcement of law by authorities could provide for a more mutually beneficial and safer exchange of private information that may be pertinent for the discussion of issues related to the website.

You can find a PDF copy of the paper in its entirety here.