80 – Empowering users of online services

Using online services means ticking a lot of boxes in consent forms, but do we always know what we are saying yes to? In this podcast we are talking to Farzaneh Karegar, PhD in Computer Science. In her research she proposed, designed, and tested usable and legally compliant tools and solutions that can empower users to take control of their data when using online services. 

We talk about the trade-offs between convenience and privacy when it comes to making online choices; tools that both users and service providers can benefit from and consent form designs that motivate users to pay more attention to what they are disclosing and for what purposes. Farzaneh introduces us also to dark patterns which are very prominent in, for example, cookie consent banners and explains why they can be a pitfall also for policy designers with good intentions. 

Farzaneh Karegar’s doctoral thesis can be downloaded from DiVA: The Lord of Their Data Under the GDPR?: Empowering Users Through Usable Transparency, Intervenability, and Consent