Silence is golden... does silence count as consent?

Silence is golden... does silence count as consent?

Silence is golden or?

The other day there was the question of whether you also give your consent if you do nothing. In other words, tacitly, by allowing a set deadline to pass and not acting. Can the other party also regard this action as a tacit declaration of consent?

Tacit action or no action at all

A tacit declaration of will is explained to us very well on the Internet on the most diverse pages. Everyone knows that it can be a form of expression. But does it apply equally in data protection?

A declaration of intent must be made by one's own will, i.e. it must be externally recognizable.

An effective declaration of consent must be given voluntarily. The person must be over 16 years of age. The written form is not mandatory, but is considered secure proof in the event of disputes.

Since the consent of the person concerned is a central component in data protection, he or she must be able to give legally valid and voluntary consent. It follows that the mere expiry of a time limit cannot be interpreted as consent.

Possibility of revocation

The data subject has the right to revoke his consent at any time. Data may no longer be collected thereafter.

Summary:

A declaration of consent must always be given voluntarily. The data subject must not be ignored. They must be informed in detail about the purpose, processing and use of their data. They must be able to revoke their consent at any time.