When consent becomes dissent

A key notion of privacy is becoming increasingly tenuous

Do you agree with the following terms and conditions?

Every week millions of consumers are faced with this question when updating software on their computer or cell phone, or when they log into an online service that stores personal information.

And of course every single person clicks "Agree" having read barely a word of the pages of text that outline what the company can now do you with your data. You have no real choice of course: if you don't agree, it simply ceases to function. Your iPhone becomes a $300 paperweight; Facebook slams shut.

Everyone from consumers to companies to legislators recognize this as a ridiculous state of affairs but it remains a stubborn, if increasingly mocked situation for one simple reason: the globally accepted notion of "consent".