Does Automated Consent Undermine Informed Consent?

Abstract The problem of self-managing one’s online privacy by reading and accepting numerous privacy policies—that are often long and hard to understand—is familiar as it is difficult. Only a small percentage of internet users, as a result, read all applicable policies and provide “informed” consent to companies or organisations to collect and share their personal data. In the last few years, “automated consent” has emerged as a possible solution. This is software that can provide consent on behalf of users. While promising, the technology raises a puzzle: if software can handle online agreements, thus allowing users to bypass them, might it undermine informed consent? This paper addresses the puzzle. In response to it, I introduce the concept of “higher-order consent” and show how it can help to facilitate a type of informed consent for users of automated consent. The paper also considers possible objections to this view and explores the normative implications of accepting the conclusion that automated consent undermines informed consent.