The Role of Consent in an Algorithmic Society – Its Evolution, Scope, Failings and Re-conceptualization

n. In: Kostas, E., Leenes, R., & Kamara, I (2022) Research Handbook on EU data protection. Edward Elgar Publishing, 455–473, https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800371682.00027

22 Pages Posted: 25 Jan 2023

See all articles by Bart Custers

Bart Custers

Leiden University - Center for Law and Digital Technologies

Eduard Fosch-Villaronga

Leiden University

Simone van der Hof

Leiden University - Leiden Law School

Bart Willem Schermer

Leiden Law School

Alan M. Sears

Center for Law and Digital Technologies (eLaw), Leiden Law School, Leiden University

Aurelia Tamò-Larrieux

University of St. Gallen

Date Written: January 20, 2022

Abstract

In this chapter, we address the role of consent in data protection law by explaining first how consent came to existence. Taking a historical perspective, we explain how the concept evolved in different countries, across various pieces of legislation, and for different data subjects, including children. Then, we look at the EU level how consent was established in Directive 95/46/EC and the General Data Protection Regulation and explore its scope and what consent entails by looking at the rulings from the Court of Justice of the European Union, the previously called Article 29 Working Party (WP29) opinions, and the newly issued guidelines by the European Data Protection Board.9 Building upon the rich body of scholarship that has stressed and focused on the failure of consent, we tie this narrative into the past, present, and future so as to explain why consent has persisted over time to be widely used today and why it is likely to continue to be a central pillar of data protection law. We conclude this chapter by explaining the rationale behind the role of consent in an increasingly algorithmic society. In this respect, we describe the purpose consent serves in a hyper-connected society and explore its quo vadis by assessing recent proposals concerning interactive, dynamic consent models, which are already used in research and shared-economy business models.

Keywords: consent, GDPR, data protection law, WP29, informed consent, unambiguous consent, explicit consent

Suggested Citation

Custers, Bart and Fosch-Villaronga, Eduard and van der Hof, Simone and Schermer, Bart Willem and Sears, Alan M. and Tamò-Larrieux, Aurelia, The Role of Consent in an Algorithmic Society – Its Evolution, Scope, Failings and Re-conceptualization (January 20, 2022). n. In: Kostas, E., Leenes, R., & Kamara, I (2022) Research Handbook on EU data protection. Edward Elgar Publishing, 455–473, https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800371682.00027, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4331737

Bart Custers (Contact Author)

Leiden University - Center for Law and Digital Technologies ( email )

2300 RA Leiden, NL-2300RA
Netherlands

Eduard Fosch-Villaronga

Leiden University ( email )

Steenschuur 25
Leiden, 2311 ES
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

Bart Willem Schermer

Leiden Law School ( email )

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

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

Alan M. Sears

Center for Law and Digital Technologies (eLaw), Leiden Law School, Leiden University ( email )

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

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/alan-m.-sears

Aurelia Tamò-Larrieux

University of St. Gallen ( email )

Bodanstrasse 8
SIAW-HSG
St.Gallen, 9000
Switzerland

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
140
Abstract Views
330
Rank
375,343
PlumX Metrics