Consent-based application programming interfaces (APIs) are used to provide privacy access controls to operational systems for business services accomplished particularly in an electronic and/or networked environment. An API implementation device or host provides a link between a channel application, configured to provide an interface with a customer, and privacy data as used by operational applications and obtained from databases such as data warehouses. The privacy APIs provide per-customer choice/consent to obtaining and/or retrieval of privacy information/data and per-customer access thereto. In one form, the privacy APIs are used in business initiated self service applications wherein an activity or event triggers business to customer initiation.