Guarding privacy: Rethinking Online consent choices

As Tunde navigated the internet one evening, he stumbled upon a website promising the latest news on the upcoming elections in Nigeria. A political enthusiast, Tunde eagerly clicked on the link, only to be greeted by a pop-up asking him to accept cookies. This was not unusual — he had grown accustomed to these requests. Most of the time, he simply clicked “Accept All” without giving it much thought. But this time, something made him pause.

Tunde had heard from a friend about the dangers of blindly accepting cookies, about how websites use them to track users’ every move across the web. He had also read about something called “legitimate interest,” a term that had recently gained traction among data protection experts and internet privacy advocates. His friend, Kemi, had warned him about how companies might misuse this concept to force ads down users’ throats without their genuine consent.

Intrigued and slightly alarmed, Tunde decided to explore the options instead of automatically accepting the cookies. As he navigated through the settings, he was overwhelmed by what he saw. The website had listed over a thousand vendors, all clamouring for his data. Many of these vendors were obscure companies he had never heard of, and their requests for access to his information were all justified under “legitimate interest.”

Tunde wondered, was it truly in his legitimate interest for these faceless companies to have access to his browsing habits, his location, and even his device information? The more he thought about it, the more he realised that this was far from what he considered his best interest. It felt like an invasion, like strangers barging into his life without his permission.

The term “legitimate interest” is meant to allow companies to process personal data without explicit consent, but only when it is necessary and when the interests or fundamental rights of the data subject are not overridden. However, Tunde was beginning to see how this concept could be, and often was, misused. Instead of giving users a genuine choice, some companies were using it as a loophole to continue aggressive data collection and targeted advertising. They relied on the assumption that most users, like Tunde had been, would not dig deeper into what they were agreeing to.

This realisation was unsettling for Tunde. He had always thought that as long as he didn’t share his passwords or financial details, he was safe online. But now, he understood that by casually accepting cookies, he had been allowing companies to pry into his digital life, gathering data that painted a detailed picture of his interests, habits, and even fears.

Tunde felt a surge of frustration. He wondered how many others, particularly in Nigeria where awareness about data privacy was still growing, were falling into the same trap. People deserved to know that by simply clicking “Accept All,” they might be inviting a crowd of unseen advertisers into their lives. They deserved to have a real choice, not just a performative gesture masquerading as consent.

From that day, Tunde made a commitment to himself. He would be more vigilant, reading the fine print, understanding what each cookie did, and rejecting those that did not align with his interests. He would also share what he had learnt with friends and family, urging them to take control of their digital lives. It was a small step, but in a world where data was becoming as valuable as oil, it was a step in the right direction. 

Tunde realised that consent wasn’t just a click on a pop-up; it was about understanding and asserting one’s right to privacy in an increasingly connected world. And that was something worth fighting for.

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