Collaborative consent: Harnessing the strengths of the Internet for consent in the online environment

Consent in the online environment is a crucial issue at this stage of the development of the Internet, and at the same time, in practice it is generally dealt with only on a superficial level. However, while the Internet offers significant challenges in terms of consent, it also provides unparalleled opportunities, which, if grasped, could enable a new level of consent, particularly where consent is required for services such as behavioural advertising systems. Through an examination of the failure of Phorm, the paper introduces a new concept, 'collaborative consent', treating consent not as a discrete, one-off decision but as a collaborative and communicative process, an ongoing relationship between the individual and the enterprise. The Internet provides a medium for immediate and interactive communication that could allow information to be given and choices to be made in real time - a first step to real, informed consent in the online world.