Managing Consent: The Key to Trust and Compliance

Authors

David Goodman, D. Phil – Principal Consulting Analyst

Abstract

The introduction into law of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018 stimulated a slew of similar data protection initiatives in jurisdictions including California, Brazil, India, China, Russia and others. What all these diverse legislations share in common is greater protection for the rights and interests of individuals in terms of how their personal data is captured, stored, managed and used. GDPR and other legislations are now legally binding and enforceable with considerable penalties.

A key aspect of the GDPR is a user’s right to explicitly agree or consent to how data about them is being collected, stored, managed and used as well as the right also to modify or cancel the agreement at any time. This legislation is indicative of a profound shift in favor of users gaining control over where, why and how their personal data is being kept and used.

These trends have driven most enterprises to at least begin to explore how to manage consent agreements with their employees, customers and partners. This is reflected in the number of vendors that are currently developing user-friendly consent management platforms (CMP).

In this report, we investigate this emerging trend, what the major players are doing, and our recommended next steps for our clients. This report covers:

• Consent management value proposition and enterprise recommendations
• Factors that help enterprises achieve the right balance between business needs, consumer rights and risks.
• TechVision’s shortlist of vendors with consent management solutions
• Eight steps an enterprise should take to maintain customer trust