What is a Consent Manager

Data is the most powerful resource for modern businesses and with great power comes great responsibility. The DPDP Act enshrines these responsibilities into law, aligning with global standards like the GDPR. For the first time, Indian businesses are faced with strict obligations on the collection, storage, and processing of personal data with fines ranging from ₹50 Crore to ₹250 Crore per instance of non-compliance. 

At the heart of this law is Consent. A large part of the compliance challenge comes down to managing user consents by 

1. providing compliant notices and collecting verifiable consents;
2. maintaining detailed records of each consent collected;
3. letting users easily change their preferences ;
4. Processing the customer’s data based on their consent. If the customer withholds or withdraws their consent for a particular purpose, then the business cannot share, process or store their data for that purpose. 

These requirements  pose a massive technical and operational challenge for business, application, infosec, compliance and operations teams.

As businesses scramble to comply, the role of a Consent Manager becomes crucial. Before we break down the meaning and utility of a Consent Manager, let us answer a more primal question.

What is the role of Consent?

Ever experienced the frustration of fielding marketing calls and messages that you never signed up for? This common scenario underpins the importance of Consent, which is essentially permission granted by individuals before anyone can use their personal data. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act transforms this basic concept into an uncompromising legal mandate. Under the DPDP Act, consent is not a mere permission - it is the main ground for processing personal data. Consent must be:

Freely given: Users must not feel pressured or coerced into giving consent. It should be an unconditional choice indicating their willingness to allow data processing.

Specific and informed: Consent must be linked to clear, specific purposes that are communicated upfront. Users should fully understand what they are consenting to.

Unambiguous with an affirmative action: There should be no doubt in how and for what consent is being taken. It involves a clear affirmative action, such as ticking a box or clicking a button to signify agreement.

Verifiable: There should be auditable records and proof that consent was collected in the manner prescribed in the Act. 

For your business, it means a radical shift in how you manage user data - from obtaining initial consent to maintaining a transparent process for its modification and withdrawal.

What is a Consent Manager?

A Consent Manager is a specialized software that facilitates compliance with legal requirements around user consent under regulations like the DPDP Act. This includes:

1. Omni-Channel Consent Collection: A Consent Manager simplifies consent gathering across channels  like websites, mobile apps, physical outlets, email, whatsapp etc. This ensures consent forms across all touchpoints are clear, specific, easy to understand and meet all other legal requirements. Obtaining valid, verifiable consent is particularly difficult in scenarios involving individuals with limited literacy or access to technology, such as in rural areas. A Consent Manager lets you provide the consent notice in local languages.

2. Secure and Organized Consent Storage: After obtaining consent, the Consent Manager ensures that all records are securely stored and readily accessible for audits. Each consent is logged with a timestamp, documenting exactly when, how, and for what specific purpose it was obtained. The Consent Manager categorizes consent data based on factors like the channel through which consent was given (e.g., website, mobile app, or physical outlet), the legal basis for processing, and the purpose of processing.

3. Integration with Existing Systems:  A Consent Manager seamlessly integrates with your organization's existing systems and data processing workflows, ensuring that no personal data is used without proper consent. This integration is essential for maintaining compliance across all departments without disrupting your current operations. The Consent Manager connects with systems like CRM platforms, marketing automation tools, ERP software, and data storage solutions, creating a unified framework for managing consents across all data touchpoints. Every time personal data is collected or processed—whether for marketing, customer service, or analytics—a verification step confirms that the required consent has been obtained.

Beyond Consent

The new data protection regime presents myriad other challenges over and above consent management. Given that a consent manager stores all records of consent, it is also best placed to manage the following compliances.

1. Data Principal Rights Management: You can read our in depth take on Rights of Data Principals under the DPDP Act elsewhere on this blog. In brief, the DPDP Act provides four key rights to users:

• Right to Information Access: A Consent Manager allows users to request access to their personal data, providing a clear summary of what data has been collected, how it’s being processed, and with whom it’s shared.
• Right to Correction and Erasure: Users have the right to request corrections or deletions of their personal data if it’s inaccurate, incomplete, or no longer necessary. The Consent Manager provides a simple and secure way for users to submit these requests and enables  businesses to update or erase the data from their systems and any third-party systems.
• Right to Grievance Redressal: A Consent Manager offers a dedicated channel for users to file grievances if they believe their data has been mishandled. It helps businesses track and resolve complaints within the legal timeframe while maintaining detailed records of all grievances and the actions taken to resolve them.
• Right to Nominate: In case of death or incapacity, users have the right to nominate someone to manage their data rights. A Consent Manager makes it easy for users to designate a nominee, securely store this information and enable access.

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2. Compliant Data Retention: The DPDP Act poses granular data retention requirements as businesses can only store data for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it is collected or as required under law. It is a mammoth of a technical challenge to ascertain when a data point is due for deletion and from where all it needs to be deleted. 

3. Third Party Management: Once you’ve ascertained when and which data must be deleted, you must erase them from both yours and your vendors/partners’ systems. Some businesses manage about hundreds of vendors and could have shared user data with any one of them. Further, this must be balanced with other legal obligations that require businesses to retain certain data for specified periods. 

Consider Pushkal, a customer of Yes Bank who withdraws consent for the storage of his loan application data. Yes Bank has shared his information with 50 financial partners for processing. Now, Yes Bank must coordinate with each of these partners (lenders, credit rating agencies, financial advisors) to ensure Pushkal’s data is deleted across every platform. This is complicated by the fact that Pushkal may need to retain certain data under RBI mandates. 

A Consent Manager eases this burden by letting you keep track of which data has been shared with third parties and triggering timely notifications to direct them to delete the data.

By automating and centralizing these tasks and more, a Consent Manager can help businesses streamline their data protection processes making them more transparent, accountable and secure from the risk of penalties. 

Existing Models of Consent Management 

Consent management is not an entirely new concept in India. While there are sector-specific systems in place for managing consent, such as the Account Aggregator (AA) framework for financial data, there is no overarching Consent Manager for personal data across all sectors. These systems, like AA, enable secure, consent-based data sharing in finance and healthcare, but they remain confined to specific use cases. Here are some existing forms of consent management in India:

1. Account Aggregators: Part of India’s Digital Public Infrastructure, AAs empower users by allowing them to control their data, improving access to loans, wealth management, and insurance. The AA system is designed specifically for financial data, integrating with banks and lenders to facilitate the secure transfer of personal financial information. Through AA, users can control how long their data is shared and for what purpose. For example, a user might consent to share their bank statements with a lender to qualify for a loan, but can revoke this consent once the loan process is completed. 

On the other hand, a DPDP Consent Manager covers a broader range of data, including personal and non-financial information.

2. ABDM: Part of India’s Digital Health Mission, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) empowers users to control the sharing of their personal health data with healthcare providers. Similar to AAs, the ABDM framework allows users to consent to specific health data being shared for a defined purpose, like seeking medical care. Once the purpose is fulfilled, users can revoke their consent. 
3. TRAI DCA: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) introduced the Digital Consent Acquisition (DCA) system to enhance consent management for telemarketing under the DPDP Act. Consent can only be obtained through the telecom network via numbers starting with ‘127,’ ensuring authenticity and transparency. These consents are recorded on a Distributed Ledger (DL) called DL-Consent, which telemarketers must verify before contacting users. While it shows promise in improving transparency through its reliance on cellular networks and the Distributed Ledger (DL), its success remains uncertain. Issues like low awareness, inconsistent adoption, and historical loopholes in enforcement still need to be addressed. Read our dedicated piece on DCA, telemarketing and the DPDP Act to learn more.

4. Consent Artifacts: Even before the enactment of the DPDP Act, the Ministry of Information and Technology introduced the concept of Consent Artifacts under the Electronic Consent Framework. A Consent Artefact is a digitally signed document that specifies the scope and purpose of data sharing including sections such as -

• Identifiers: Specifies entities involved (Data Provider, Data Consumer, Consent Collector, and User).
• Data Section: Outlines the data type, duration, access permissions (e.g., View or Store), and frequency of access.
• Purpose: Clearly describes the reason for data access, providing transparency.
• Revocability: If the consent is revocable, users can withdraw it at any time. Revocation requests are handled through secure, digitally signed formats.
• Logging: Every consent and data transaction is logged for auditing and transparency.

A Consent Artifact is supposed to enable secure, machine-readable consents for sharing personal data between entities like service providers, ensuring compliance with the data protection laws. Consent Artifacts are also mentioned in the upcoming DPDP Rules as a method for collecting and storing user consents. 

Need for Interoperability in Consent Management

One of the primary challenges with consent managers is the fragmented nature of the industry. Different consent managers operate in silos, often within the same industry, without interoperability between systems. For example, one Account Aggregator (AA) cannot manage the consent records collected by another AA. This disjointedness creates inefficiencies, requiring businesses to manage multiple consent flows for different channels, even when the underlying consent record is standardized.

A unified, interoperable consent management system could address this issue, allowing for seamless consent handling across various platforms and industries. This would streamline processes for businesses, reduce redundancy, and improve the user experience by offering a centralized platform for managing their consents. The DPDP Act marks a giant step in this direction, aligning with global privacy standards.

Why is the role of a Consent Manager?

Having understood the basics of a Consent Manager, let us unpack why integrating such a solution is key in achieving data protection compliance:

1. Assured Compliance: Executing compliance changes without a Consent Manager could prove to be a highly time intensive and disruptive task for any business. A Consent Manager brings expertise in fulfilling your compliance requirements. However, simply onboarding a Consent Manager will not absolve you as the liability of non-compliance still hangs on the Fiduciary. Choosing the right Consent Manager registered with the Data Protection Board (DPB) is crucial to ensure robust compliance.

2. Enhancing Customer Trust: Transparency is crucial in building and maintaining customer trust. By providing a clear mechanism for consent preference management, a Consent Manager ensures that your customers have full control over their data and rights, reinforcing their trust in your business.

3. Operational Efficiency: A Consent Manager automates and simplifies the management of consents across all platforms and touchpoints. This frees up your workforce to focus on your business operations. This efficiency is vital for large-scale operations that handle vast amounts of personal data.

4. Competitive Advantage: As data privacy becomes a priority for consumers, having a robust system for managing consent can distinguish your business from competitors. This could lead to better customer retention and attracting new customers who value privacy.

5. Audit Preparedness: The DPDP Act necessitates regular audits to ensure compliance. A Consent Manager provides easily accessible, detailed records of all consent transactions, which is invaluable during audits and regulatory reviews.

By automating and centralizing these tasks, a Consent Manager not only ensures compliance with the DPDP Act but also enhances your operational transparency, customer trust, and overall business efficacy.

How can you onboard a Consent Manager?

Prior planning and preparation can ensure a seamless implementation of a Consent Manager in your systems. Here’s what you can do to prepare:

1. Data Mapping: Start with a comprehensive data mapping exercise. Identify where and how personal data is collected, stored, and used across your organization. Understanding the full scope of data interactions is crucial for determining the coverage needed from the Consent Manager.

2. Review Current Consent Practices: Assess your current consent forms and processes to ensure they meet the standards set by the DPDP Act. This review will help identify areas that require adjustments to achieve compliance.

3. Stakeholder Engagement: Engage key stakeholders from IT, legal, compliance, and marketing departments from the beginning. Their insights will help in defining the Consent Manager’s requirements and ensuring it aligns with both technical specifications and regulatory obligations.

4. Choose the Right Consent Manager: Select a Consent Manager that fits your organizational needs, considering factors like ease of integration, scalability, user interface, and comprehensive compliance features. Opt for a solution that provides robust customer support and training resources.

5. Pilot Testing: Conduct a pilot test of the Consent Manager with a controlled group of users before a full rollout. This step will help identify any operational issues and ensure the system functions as intended in your specific environment.

Don't wait until compliance becomes an issue or penalties become a reality. Take the first step today to safeguard your business and your customers' trust. Reach out to our team for a personalized demo of our Consent Manager tailored to meet all the consent obligations under the DPDP Act.

Why Choose Leegality Consent Manager?

Built for Compliance, Designed by Experts: Leegality’s Consent Manager is uniquely positioned to help Indian enterprises navigate the complex landscape of the DPDP Act. Our team is driven by former lawyers and compliance experts - we understand the intricacies of legal mandates and build solutions that proactively address them, so your business is always ahead of the curve.

Experience with Large Enterprises: We have extensive operational experience serving large Indian enterprises, particularly in the BFSI sector. With over 2,500 businesses, including 400+ major BFSI companies already relying on Leegality’s Document Infrastructure for digital paperwork execution, we understand the mammoth effort required to implement large-scale solutions. Our Consent Manager is built with the same attention to scalability and ease of deployment, ensuring seamless integration across your organization.

Seamless Integration and Tailored Support: Leegality offers a Consent Manager that integrates effortlessly into your existing systems and workflows. Whether it's CRM, ERP, or marketing tools, we ensure compliance across all touchpoints without disrupting your operations. Our customer support and training resources provide ongoing assistance, ensuring your team is equipped to manage consent in a compliant, efficient manner.

Get Started Today! Don't wait for compliance issues or penalties. Contact us for a personalized demo of Leegality's Consent Manager and take the first step toward safeguarding your business under the DPDP Act.