Last week, we introduced part one and part two of the closing keynote at the IAPP Europe Data Protection Intensive in London, UK, which explored the future of data collection and use, notice and choice in a world that is increasingly connected and populated with devices that collect data without interfaces and without off buttons.

Today, in part three, Richard Thomas, former UK ICO and currently global strategy advisor to the Centre for Information Policy Leadership at Hunton & Williams, talks about the role of the regulator and how the current standard of notice and consent “provides too much permissiveness.”

Since the public will agree to anything in order to get at the service they want to use, and have no hope of reading a privacy policy that, like eBay’s, for example, is longer than Hamlet, companies can get consumers to allow almost anything to be done with their data.

“Seven-and-a-half-thousand people assigned their immortal soul” to Game Station, as part of the terms and conditions on the company’s website, Thomas notes.

So, what is to be done? Thomas offers his thoughts:

The IAPP will be rolling out further discussion of this topic through the end of this week. Stay tuned to our YouTube Channel and the Daily Dashboard for updates.