Heuristics for identifying legal (documentation) risks as a QA

[I feel the need to add a disclaimer that this does not constitute legal advice.]

Companies generally have to follow certain requirements for legal documentation. These are that legal documentation must be

• PRESENT


• UP-TO-DATE


• NOT SKIPPABLE


• EASY TO LOCATE AND ACCESS

So if you were looking for legal documentation risks you would look for...

HIDDEN

Find HIDDEN (links to) legal copy. A link might be hidden if it blends in with the background colour of the page.

MISSING

Find MISSING (links to) legal copy.

A page might be missing references to the relevant legal copy for that page.

A citation might be incorrect.

The footer might be missing references to the legal pages.

BYPASS

Find paths that allow users to BYPASS/SKIP the terms and conditions or the privacy policy page/{other relevant documentation check with your company's lawyer/legal team) when signing up for the product, signing into the platform or buying a new service. Are the links working? Is the copy on the page - if it's directly on the screen - up-to-date?

NOT AGREE

Find paths that allow users to NOT AGREE to the terms and conditions or the privacy policy (for example) when signing up for the product, or signing into the platform, or buying a new service. If the site is using checkboxes, is it possible to go to the next screen without ticking the relevant checkbox?

If the site is saying, if you click accept, you accept these terms, can you go to the next screen without accepting? Or maybe if you go backward and forward you can remove the acceptance and continue on?

OUTDATED

Find links to OUTDATED legal copy documents. When all the legal links/documents/copy were updated on the website, were they really ALL updated?