Relational consent: Redesigning the solution space for consent and disclosure

One of the grand challenges of the digital society is safeguarding data disclosure. Despite protective regulations, most end-users are unable to manage their individual consent properly due to the overwhelming complexity of disclosure interactions. Design research could help resolve these issues, but doing so requires a shift from siloed research perspectives and detailed recommendations on the design of consent notices toward consent models and relational design. In this article we deconstruct the solution space of consent and disclosure interactions by conducting a critical review on the literature at the intersection of ethics and society, policy management and legislation, and design and computer sciences. We synthesize existing models of consent (i.e., moral consent, protective consent, and human-centered consent) and deconstruct two critical barriers (i.e., regulatory noncompliance and consent malpractices) that need to be resolved to successfully redesign current consent practices and disclosure interactions. For undertaking new efforts of redesigning consent, we formulate a novel approach we term relational consent, along with accompanying design principles and guidance on how to redesign consent practices and disclosure interactions.