Security News > 2024 > April > Dan Solove on Privacy Regulation

Consent plays a profound role in nearly all privacy laws.

There are generally two approaches to consent in privacy law.

In the European Union, the General Data Protection Regulation uses the express consent approach, where people must voluntarily and affirmatively consent.

Privacy law should take a new approach to consent that I call "Murky consent." Traditionally, consent has been binary-an on/off switch-but murky consent exists in the shadowy middle ground between full consent and no consent.

Murky consent embraces the fact that consent in privacy is largely a set of fictions and is at best highly dubious.

The law can't make the tale of privacy consent less fictional, but with these duties, the law can ensure the story ends well.

News URL

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/04/dan-solove-on-privacy-regulation.html