Why #consent is the wrong word for digital; because it does not have an end.



For sometime it has been a wrestle as to why "consent" could be the wrong word. 

I have looked at a number of ways of exploring this thinking, but have failed to nail the "why."  Here are a few previous blog exploring the thinking:
  • Why the portability of consent is important is explored here 
  • Layered consent is like peeling an onion, only to find it is not an onion is explored here
  • Why opt-in and opt-out are the beginnings of consent is explored here
  • What level of consent is reasonable the balance of forgiveness vs approval is explored here
So this thinking got me looking at when consent ends in the traditional sense of the word.  Consent being that you provide your approval for something to happen. In the context it is used in law, consent is most often interrupted for the next action, next event or next period of time and once the event, time or action has passed the original consent is lapsed and new consent is sort. Consent cannot be assumed or passed on.  Just image that you give consent for one thing and someone gives it to someone else !

The debate is not should we have informed and explicit consent (what ever that means) we have done that really well but should we be able to or want to enable the passing of consent in a digital context.  It is defiantly implied and acceptable as a practice today, usually created by the acceptance of Terms and Conditions. 

It is this understanding that consent is set up to be bounded (finite) and in digital we are already passing and looking at being about to pass your consent from one company/ service to another, because you gave "consent" for this by agreeing to use a service. Your consent over there is ported/moved/ passed to the new place.  

So debate or decision time - "when should/does consent end in a digital setting?"

We sort of know when it ends in a relationship sense, we defiantly know when it ends in a medical or trial sense - I am not sure we have debated where consent ends in a digital setting.