Introduction to Consent Management
In the following guide we'll explore what consent management is, why it's important and the various standards and requirements for consent. By the end of this you'll have a strong understanding of consent and the common types of management systems and frameworks.
What is Consent Management?
Consent management is a system or process for allowing visitors to digital properties, such as a website or mobile app to decide what personal data they are willing to share with that business. Why is consent management important? Consent has become important globally because of an increasing number of regulations that require businesses to obtain legal consent for collecting data from a user.
Ignore consent at your own risk, and cost. Failing to comply with consent regulations has serious financial penalties and consequences for business.
Failing to comply with data privacy regulations can result in:
- fines of as much as 4% of global revenue
- A civil lawsuit brought by your customers
- Added legal, investigative and customer support costs to manage any failures
- Direct reputational damage to your brand at a time when consumers are increasingly distrustful of technology and data collection practices
Where do Consent laws apply?
Most organizations doing business on the internet, it is likely that you operate in at least one location where consent must be collected and managed on behalf of visitors and customers. Countries or regions which have data privacy laws continue to grow every year, however, as of last writing, processing of personal data requires consent in the following countries and regions:
- India
- EEA (European Economic Area): includes European Union countries, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
- United Kingdom
- United States of America (USA): California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia
- Canada and Quebec
- South Africa
- Brazil
- China
What is meant by lawful basis for processing?
To legally handle someone's personal data, a business needs a "lawful basis," which is just a valid reason or justification for processing that data. 🔐 This is a core concept in data privacy regulations worldwide. While specific legal reasons can differ between laws, the most common ones are:
- Consent: The individual has explicitly agreed to the data processing.
- Contract: Processing the data is essential for fulfilling a contract with the individual.
- Legal Obligation: The data is processed to comply with a legal requirement.
- Vital Interest: The processing is necessary to protect someone's life.
- Public Task: The data is needed to perform a function in the public interest.
- Legitimate Interest: The data processing is a necessary and reasonable part of providing a service that an individual would expect.
Updated 3 months ago