[en] Lately, icons have witnessed a growing wave of interest in the view of enhancing
transparency and clarity of data processing practices in mandated disclosures. Although
benefits in terms of comprehensibility, noticeability, navigability of the information and
user’s attention and memorization can be expected, they should also be supported by
decisive empirical evidence about the efficacy of the icons in specific contexts.
Misrepresentation, oversimplification, and improper salience of certain aspects over others
are omnipresent risks that can drive data subjects to wrong conclusions. Cross-domain and
international standardization of visual means also poses a serious challenge: if on the one
hand developing standards is necessary to ensure widespread recognition and
comprehension, each domain and application presents unique features that can be hardly
established, and imposed, in a top-down manner. This article critically discusses the above
issues and identifies relevant open questions for scientific research. It also provides concrete
examples and practical suggestions for researchers and practitioners that aim to implement
transparency-enhancing icons in the spirit of the General Data Protection Regulation
(GDPR).
Disciplines :
Computer science Arts & humanities: Multidisciplinary, general & others Engineering, computing & technology: Multidisciplinary, general & others Law, criminology & political science: Multidisciplinary, general & others
Author, co-author :
ROSSI, Arianna ; University of Luxembourg > Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SNT) > Computer Science and Communications Research Unit (CSC)
LENZINI, Gabriele ; University of Luxembourg > Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SNT)
External co-authors :
no
Language :
English
Title :
Making the Case for Evidence-based Standardization of Data Privacy and Data Protection Visual Indicators