Informed consent was: Re: [LINK] US-AMA far too complacent about human RFID tags

[Jan Whitaker]

At 01:47 PM 4/07/2007, Roger Clarke wrote:
>Yes, it's definitely a contribution.  I have doubts about it solving 
>the whole problem, but it does, for example, make it much easier for 
>us all to discuss how iniquitous MS, Sun, and every other supplier 
>is or isn't;  and that transparency helps in bringing pressure to bear.

The other aspect is 'bundled consent'. This is when something you may 
agree to, like being contacted if something needs a recall versus 
holus bolus distribution of your email and phone number along with 
your name, date of birth, gender, income, etc. to unrelated third 
parties, often called secondary uses of the data. I attended a 
session recently where the benefit to the individual came with 
strings that their info be accessible for a range of secondary 
purposes with implied consent; i.e. you opt in/volunteer to 
participate, but by doing so you also agree to the PIU (privacy 
invasive uses) [pronounced: pee-ewe; I just made that up].

There is a similar approach to bundled consent in terms and 
conditions with our friends at Telstra [or at least there was, 
havent' checked recently] with their broadband T&Cs. They hold that 
if you subscribe, you agree to conform to industry codes of practice. 
How weird is that? When I questioned them about that, they didn't 
want to know about it and wouldn't change the agreement. I took it to 
the TIO, but they said that they had no jurisdiction over contract 
terms BEFORE you became a customer. If you agreed to the terms, then 
you were bound by them and they would only be concerned if the 
company did NOT enforce the ludicrous condition. Something is 
backwards in the legal logic here, eh?

So despite the view that consent is a given or benign, you gotta look 
at the evil villains along the way as well, as Fred Chaney told the 
press club today in his talk about Howard's Invasion.

Jan


Jan Whitaker
JLWhitaker Associates, Melbourne Victoria
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
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