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In many of the privacy policies, I noticed there is one section as a disclaimer mainly talking about "our websites contain links to other websites, and it is your own risk/responsibility to familiar yourself with the privacy policies about those sites".

E.g. quoted one paragraph of this kind:

We are affiliated with other online companies, some of which feature our branding; in addition there are numerous links to third parties contained on our site. Our Privacy Policy does not apply to those companies' web sites, so you should refer to each of those sites to obtain information on their privacy policies. If you cannot find the privacy policy on any of these sites once you have arrived at their site via a link from our site, you should contact that site directly for more information.

Because a quite high percentage of privacy policies contain such a paragraph, it seems to be a common practice and seems to be caused by legal reasons.

I am totally unfamiliar with legal aspects of privacy, could anyone provide some insights on the reason why it is a common practice? Maybe point out which regulation/law requires such a disclaimer? Thanks!

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    Although security and privacy often go together, this is actually a question about the legal aspects of a privacy policy. You are unlikely to get good answers to this question on a security site. These two proposals are the best I can find to direct you at: area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/24586/laws-legal-questions area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/3527/software-law
    – Ladadadada
    Nov 15, 2011 at 14:00
  • @Ladadadada Though I knew it could be a little bit off-topic here, it is for now the best fit. Thanks anyway for pointing out those two sites.
    – Flake
    Nov 15, 2011 at 14:10
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    As far as I have been able to determine, there are no legal requirements to display such a paragraph. It's more like a liability play. "By saying, X, Y, and Z, we can lessen the chances that we'll get sued, when one of our users goes to a 3rd party site and has their identity stolen." Companies do this all the time, with gun companies stating they'll not be held liable for crimes you commit with a gun, and cell phone companies warning you not to eat batteries. It's more of a lawyer requirement, than a legal requirement.
    – Tim Kennedy
    Nov 15, 2011 at 15:54

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