Recommendation 1

We consider that the vast majority of individuals would find it almost impossible to know what they are consenting to when using social media platforms or other web services. Individuals are highly unlikely to read or fully understand complex and lengthy terms and conditions or privacy notices. Moreover, these notices are non- negotiable and offered in a take it-or-leave-it manner. Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube and many other online services make joining a service conditional on agreeing wholesale to terms and conditions, which includes current privacy notices and future changes to terms. In practice, this means individuals often have no choice but to agree if they want to use a service, which raises questions about whether or not consent has really been given.