The Crisis of Consent: How Stronger Legal Protection May Lead to Weaker Consent in Data Protection

Ethics and Information Technology, The Crisis of Consent: How Stronger Legal Protection may lead to Weaker Consent in Data Protection, DOI: 10.1007/s10676-­014-­9343-­8, Forthcoming

19 Pages Posted: 22 Mar 2014

See all articles by Bart Willem Schermer

Bart Willem Schermer

Leiden Law School

Bart Custers

Leiden University - Leiden Law School

Simone van der Hof

Leiden University - Leiden Law School

Date Written: February 25, 2014

Abstract

In this article we examine the effectiveness of consent in data protection legislation. We argue that the current legal framework for consent, which has its basis in the idea of autonomous authorization, does not work in practice. In practice the legal requirements for consent lead to 'consent desensitization', undermining privacy protection and trust in data processing. In particular we argue that stricter legal requirements for giving and obtaining consent (explicit consent) as proposed in the European Data Protection Regulation will further weaken the effectiveness of the consent mechanism. Building on Miller & Wertheimer’s 'Fair Transaction' model of consent we will examine alternatives to explicit consent.

Keywords: privacy, data protection, consent

Suggested Citation

Schermer, Bart Willem and Custers, Bart and van der Hof, Simone, The Crisis of Consent: How Stronger Legal Protection May Lead to Weaker Consent in Data Protection (February 25, 2014). Ethics and Information Technology, The Crisis of Consent: How Stronger Legal Protection may lead to Weaker Consent in Data Protection, DOI: 10.1007/s10676-­014-­9343-­8, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2412418 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2412418

Bart Willem Schermer (Contact Author)

Leiden Law School ( email )

P.O. Box 9520
2300 RA Leiden, NL-2300RA
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://law.leidenuniv.nl/org/metajuridica/elaw/

Bart Custers

Leiden University - Leiden Law School ( email )

P.O. Box 9520
2300 RA Leiden, NL-2300RA
Netherlands

Simone Van der Hof

Leiden University - Leiden Law School ( email )

P.O. Box 9520
2300 RA Leiden, NL-2300RA
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://www.linkedin.com/vanderhof

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