Consent and Control

Purpose

This document defines how authority is granted, exercised, limited, and revoked within the Humanity Framework.

Consent is the mechanism by which power is made legitimate. Control defines the boundaries of that power.

No system may exceed the consent under which it operates.

Foundational Principles

1. All authority originates from human agency.
2. Consent must be explicit, informed, and revocable.
3. Control must remain with the consenting party.
4. Delegation does not eliminate responsibility.
5. Silence, complexity, or default settings do not constitute consent.

Definition of Consent

Consent is a clear, voluntary agreement to a specific scope of action.

Valid consent requires:

• understanding of what is being authorized
• understanding of potential consequences
• visibility into ongoing operation
• the ability to revoke without penalty

Consent is invalid if obtained through:

• coercion
• deception
• omission of material information
• exhaustion or cognitive overload
• irreversible lock-in

Scope and Boundaries

Consent must define:

• what actions are permitted
• what actions are forbidden
• duration of authority
• data access boundaries
• escalation limits

Actions outside the declared scope are violations, regardless of intent or outcome.

Delegation and Automation

When authority is delegated to a system:

• the system acts as an extension of the human, not a replacement
• the human retains ultimate veto power
• automation must not expand its own scope

Systems must never:

• assume consent beyond what was granted
• infer consent from behavior alone
• continue operation after consent is revoked

Revocation

Consent must be revocable:

• immediately
• without justification
• without loss of essential function
• without retaliation or degradation of service

Revocation must:

• halt delegated actions
• prevent further data use
• be acknowledged clearly and visibly

Delayed or obstructed revocation is a safety violation.

Control Interfaces

Control mechanisms must be:

• visible
• simple
• continuously accessible
• functional under stress

Hidden controls, buried settings, or deceptive defaults invalidate meaningful consent.

Collective and Institutional Consent

For collective systems:

• consent mechanisms must scale with impact
• affected parties must be represented
• minority rights must be preserved

No institution may claim consent without a clear, inspectable consent mechanism.

Failure of Consent

If consent is:

• unclear
• ambiguous
• disputed
• withdrawn
• impossible to verify

Then the system must default to:

• minimal action
• reduced scope
• human decision-making

Action without valid consent is illegitimate.

Relationship to Other Documents

• Safety and responsibility define harm boundaries.
• Ethical principles define the moral basis of consent.
• Governance models define how consent is enforced.
• Design constraints define how consent is implemented.

Summary

Consent legitimizes power. Control preserves agency. Revocation prevents domination.

No system is permitted to act beyond the will of those it affects.