Implied consent is a legal doctrine and a legal concept, most often used in reference to the assumed consent that two parties have to an agreement or contract due to their apparent intention. This is distinct from expressed consent, meaning explicit agreement to an arrangement in which all applicable parties are aware. In some cases, courts will infer implied consent from a person’s conduct and actions, even if they never expressly agreed.
Examples of Implied Consent
One example of implied consent is the act of checking out a library book. By taking the book, the patron has implicitly and tacitly consented to return the book within the allotted time frame, and to pay any applicable fines if they don’t. Therefore, the library is within their rights to pursue a patron for failure to comply with such agreement.
Implied consent is similar to that of consent by silence. For instance, a person may be contacted by a phone-call from a company or individual. By not responding to the contact, the person is demonstrating implied consent for a business partnership. The silence is indicative of the person’s agreement to the proposal.
Implied Consent in the Digital Age
In the digital age, implied consent is also assumed when a person downloads a smartphone application or logs in to a website. By downloading the application or logging in, the user has implicitly accepted the contract or agreement presented to them. This agreement includes privacy policies, terms of service, and more. Staying logged in to a site or app, or failing to take affirmative action to opt-out of a cookie policy serves as implied consent.
Implied consent is a legal concept that can have significant implications from both a business and consumer standpoint. It’s important to understand the implications of the concept, and to be aware of it in any type of business transaction or agreement.