Citizen-Consumers in a Personalised Galaxy: Emotion Influenced Decision-Making, a True Path to the Dark Side?

Abstract

The adoption of emotion detection technology is rapidly expanding. Facebook in particular has received significant media attention in this regard. But how does the continued development and deployment of this technology in an online setting fit within the current EU regulatory framework? How does the use of such technology for advertising and marketing purposes online affect the decision-making capacity of citizen consumers? The purpose of this paper is to examine these questions in light of the respective data protection and consumer protection frameworks. This legal analysis is informed by an examination of the jurisprudential positioning of emotion in law and interdisciplinary insights drawn from decision-theory research. The theory of law and emotions relies strongly on the broader philosophical writings on the role of emotions by authors from a range of disciplinary backgrounds (cognitive psychology, neuroscience, philosophy etc.)

Keywords: Emotions, data protection, consumer protection, decision-making, autonomy