CONTEXTUAL CONSENT PRINCIPLES

Written By Kk Ortiz

Together, these principles are the contextual factors we found are relevant and essential to making consent meaningful for users.  We have a lot of great principles that articulate the specific requirements for consent (such as GDPR, FRIES and CRISP) - but we lack principles that ensure we can actually meaningfully meet these requirements - which is where the BE TRUSTED principles come in. These new contextual principles can complement existing consent requirements





CONTEXTUAL CONSENT FRAMEWORK

The Contextual Consent Framework provides a standardized way of applying the principles into real world situations along with a consent by design flywheel which is a tool to help its users understand and systematically cover the key domains that support a strong consent design. 

The framework combines the BE TRUSTED principles which need to be considered when designing consent flows into human-technical and socio-technical interactions; the four steps that enable the operational application of these principles in practice and a flywheel that defines the key domains of contextual consent. 





CONTEXTUAL CONSENT BEST PRACTICES

Key operational best practices for designing consent into technology include:

  • proving the utility and safety of the technology

  • being transparent about risks

  • recognizing users will disengage when things are sufficiently unclear

  • ensuring everyone involved has a baseline understanding that technology is present

  • acknowledging that technology changes interaction dynamics

  • using community consultation when shared impacts or high-stakes risks are involved.

Consent Thresholds:

Different contexts require different “thresholds” of consent. The following guidance summarizes when each type is most appropriate:

  • Informed Consent Most interactions have a standardised level of the Informed Consent where the intention is to furnish enough information to make a decipherable decision.

  • Explicit Consent All sensitive data, recordings or cases situated at higher levels of risk should be explicitly consented.

  • Continuous Consent applies to new or standing technologies (e.g., agents, robots) and cases with monetary or physical or emotional importances, where the consent might require renewal with time.

  • Negotiable Consent is used when the norms and expectations may differ among parties (i.e. recording), the users require more advanced options than yes/no.

  • Community-Informed Consent finds application in emerging technologies where beneficiaries of the technologies utilise community consultation in decision-making.

  • Community-Directed Consent should be used in case of shared technologies with an impact to groups (e.g., facial recognition), as the decision should be taken or directed by the community.

  • Governed Consent should be used in cases of where accuracy and enforceability are a requirement (e.g. financial or healthcare contexts)

Modes of Consent:

The mode of consent should match the context and the user’s needs:

  • Audible consent works well in 1:1 settings and sensitive data contexts where verbal explanation improves clarity.

  • Visual consent supports “run-time consent” needs where users must understand what is happening in the moment.

  • Readable consent is most suitable when convenience is the primary value and information must be quickly scannable.

  • Multimodal consent is best for emerging technologies or situations where norms are being challenged and users need more than one format to understand and decide.

Quick Decision Guide:

Use these questions to determine what level and mode of consent is needed:

  • Start by defining the scenario clearly.

  • Then ask:

    • how does technology change the dynamic?

    • Is the technology emerging or unfamiliar?

    • Who is the target audience and what is their demographic context?

    • Are the desired norms clear and widely shared, or is there likely disagreement?

  • Based on the answers, choose the consent threshold

    • informed

    • explicit

    • continuous

    • negotiable

    • community-informed

    • community-directed

    • governed

  • Lastly, select the most suitable mode

    • audible

    • visual

    • readable

    • multi-modal

Kk Ortiz