Opting Into The Surveillance State: The UX of Informed Consent
Duration: 00:20:33
Speaker: Jonny Howle
Type: Breakout
Expertise: intermediate
Event: Devcon
Date: Jul 2026
There is a saying among IT security professionals that the most vulnerable part of any system is the human. Additionally, it just so happens that when you want to exploit human behavior, product designers can be the most effective attackers. We have seen this be the case in such high profile instances as the Cambridge Analytica/Facebook scandal, and with Libra looming on the horizon, the situation is only becoming more dire.As we move into a future where digital identities can be sovereign and people truly have both the power to control the the data they share, but also the responsibility that comes with this power, what role do product designers play in helping to bring about the future that the self-sovereign identity movement promises?This talk will will explore the importance of ethics in design as it relates to data sharing and also examine some of the common "dark patterns" that are currently exploited. It will also present examples and suggestions for best practices when interacting with user data, how to gain informed consent from users, how to solve the "privacy paradox", how to design dApps that are GDPR compliant, and other related topics.
