Explicit consent

Explicit consent meaning - a clear, direct, knowledgeable agreement between two parties—usually businesses and their customers.

What is explicit consent?

When you look at the exact wording of GDPR, you will find out that there isn't a GDPR explicit consent. However, GDPR Article 4. defines consent as:

  • Freely given
  • Specific
  • Informed
  • An unambiguous, affirmative agreement

Together, this type of consent could be identified as explicit consent, called valid consent in GDPR. ‘Freely given’ means that the user was not forced to give consent. ‘Specific’ means the user can make consent choices about each type of cookie (e.g., marketing, statistics) separately. ‘Informed’ focuses on the freely available information on the visited website (e.g., privacy policy).

This type of consent must be obtained to perform any collecting and processing of personal data of the user. To have explicit consent under GDPR, all of the principles must be fulfilled; otherwise, the consent is not deemed valid.

What is Implicit Consent?

Implicit concept, contrary to explicit, refers to consent that isn’t directly stated. In other words, implicit consent isn’t given through an affirmative act, e.g., clicking a button or signing a document. Implicit consent is when a business assumes a customer has given their consent. This can happen when the customer purchases products and services or when they sign up for a newsletter on your website. However, in the EU, implicit consent is not enough. Explicit consent in GDPR, known as valid consent, must be directly and clearly given.

Explicit Consent and GDPR

For many businesses, how to obtain explicit consent is a pressing question, since it is essential for many marketing and advertising activities. In GDPR, six different lawful bases for processing personal data are mentioned. However, most companies that depend on their marketing activities as a source of leads will rely on collecting consent.

Acquiring consent must be demonstrated by an affirmative act, such as ticking a box or pressing a button. This is why many businesses try to ‘confuse’ users with different colored buttons or unclear text (e.g. OK!), which is illicit.

However, keeping up with the new laws and regulations can prove to be extremely difficult. Website owners might not even realise they are going against the privacy laws and regulations. If you are looking for a solution that will always be compliant with laws and regulations, feel free to look into our solutions. If you are looking for a solution that will always be compliant with laws and regulation, feel free to look into our solutions.

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