The YES Lie That Business (and AI) Lives On

Gianni Dell'Aiuto | WBN News Global | August 28, 2025

Does this look familiar?

Do you accept the terms and conditions of navigation that you can read HERE?
Do you accept the privacy policy published at this LINK?
Do you confirm you have read and understood the binding contract you are closing with your next click?

Let me remind you that I am basically a lawyer, and in legal terms everywhere in the world, the tiny move you make with your finger on the screen of your smartphone, or with your mouse, means YES and is a binding acceptance of a proposal. Now we can go ahead (without another click)....

Do you know what that little word “Yes” really means?

When you click it, you are not simply agreeing to install an app or unlock a feature; you are agreeing to buy something and to pay with something far more valuable than money, whatever your purchase is — especially when they say, “Free.”

That “Yes” is not a formality. It is the most expensive word you will ever give away: because with it, you hand over your privacy, your habits, your thoughts, and sometimes even your future, and your family’s, too, for free.

The whole internet system rests on a deception that everyone recognizes and yet nobody dares to dismantle.

Be honest, you have never read a Privacy Policy in your life. (Almost neither have I.)

Neither have the regulators who insist they must exist.

And yet, this great act of extortion, with the pretence that users have read and understood, is the cornerstone of the industry.

And you can't play unless you click YES.

It justifies the extraction of personal data, the profiling of entire populations, and the training of algorithms that grow fatter on every piece of information we scatter in our daily lives.

Entrepreneurs and CEOs know it perfectly well. Without that blind “Yes,” their business models would collapse overnight. Artificial intelligence, despite the name, does not run on intelligence alone. It runs on billions of fake consents collected day after day. It is not the code that feeds the machine, but the surrender of users too impatient to read and too eager to click. And yet the same leaders who swear they believe in digital trust are the ones who built their empires on this very lie.

We call it “consent,” but in truth it is nothing of the sort.

It is not awareness. It is not freedom. It is simply obedience disguised as agreement.

If trust means transparency, fairness, and respect, then digital trust died with the first meaningless “I agree.” AI systems rely on vast data—and even more on user consent that’s rarely real. In Europe, ignoring consent rules leads to heavy fines. Ask Meta or Clearview AI. Elsewhere, regulators are watching too. What happens when customers realize their agreement was a lie? Businesses should act now, protecting users instead of teaching them to pretend. Because one day, users might stop clicking—and the illusion of consent, and the fortunes built on it, could vanish overnight.

ATTENTION: people might understand that they are being manipulated, that their “Yes” is nothing more than fuel for somebody else’s profit. And if they stopped sending their data, many of today’s AI success stories would vanish like smoke.

This is the danger every business leader pretends not to see. Lies can buy time, but they do not scale forever. And one day, when regulators wake up or users revolt, the empire built on unread policies and blind acceptance will discover how fragile its foundations really are.

So, dear CEO, be warned. Keep asking for lies if you wish. But remember: regulators can fine you, investors can leave you, and clients — once they realize — can destroy you. A lie can make you rich, but it can also make you bankrupt overnight.

Previous Article of Interest: Minimum Steps For Compliant Data Collection

Tags: #Digital Privacy, #GDPR Compliance #Online Consent, #AI Regulations, #Data Economy, #Privacy Policy, #Tech Accountability, #User Rights

Gianni Dell’Aiuto is an Italian attorney with over 35 years of experience in legal risk management, data protection, and digital ethics. Based in Rome and proudly Tuscan, he advises businesses globally on regulations like the GDPR, AI Act, and NIS2. An author and frequent commentator on legal innovation, he helps companies turn compliance into a competitive edge while promoting digital responsibility. Click here to connect with him.

Sources:

• Clearview AI Legal Cases
• Meta GDPR Fines
• European Union Data Privacy Laws
• Industry Practices on Digital Consent

Editor: Wendy S. Huffman