What do you call someone who actually reads an online privacy policy?
Answer: A lawyer.
And therein lies the problem with notice and choice.
Although it makes sense in theory to give people information about how their personal data is being used, along with the ability to opt in or not, notice and choice doesn’t work in practice.
Asking the average consumer to read and fully absorb a cookie notice or privacy policy is unrealistic, says Jessica Lee, a partner at Loeb & Loeb and chair of the firm’s privacy, security and data innovations practice, speaking on this week’s episode of AdExchanger Talks.
“I mean, there are people in this space who are still wrapping their minds around understanding advertiser data flows and how everything works,” Lee says.
So, what’s the alternative?
There’s no easy solution, but better consumer education could help, Lee says.
“I think consumers need to be taught in school how the internet works, how websites operate – that should be part of curriculum so consumers can make better choices,” she says.
But the burden shouldn’t solely rest on the consumer’s shoulders. It’s a company’s responsibility to invest in good data governance and sensible data use policies. A little data ethics goes a long way.
Otherwise, “you’d have to make it almost a full-time job to … opt out of all data collection,” Lee says. “The current model of notice and choice is broken, and I think regulators realize that as well.”
Also in this episode: Why the Kochava case should be a wake-up call for the ad tech industry (despite the company’s recent motion to dismiss), preparing for the California Privacy Rights Act and why it’s time to stop using “privacy platitudes.”
For more articles featuring Jessica Lee, click here.
