Privacy Law
The New Pornography Wars
Julie Dahlstrom
Abstract The world’s largest online pornography conglomerate, MindGeek, has come under fire for the publishing of “rape videos,” child pornography, and nonconsensual pornography on its website, Pornhub. In response, as in the “pornography wars” of the 1970s and 1980s, lawyers and activists have turned to civil remedies and filed creative anti- trafficking lawsuits against MindGeek […]
Smart Meters as a Catalyst for Privacy Law
Matthew Tokson
Abstract Response to Matthew B. Kugler & Meredith Hurley, Protecting Energy Privacy Across the Public/Private Divide Smart utility meters raise several puzzling legal questions and answering them can help point the way toward the future of Fourth Amendment and civil privacy law. More than any other current technology, smart meters compel the development of use […]
Recognizing the Criminal/Civil Divide in the Use of Energy Data
Alexandra B. Klass & Elizabeth J. Wilson
Abstract Response to Professor Matthew Kugler and Meredith Hurley, Protecting Energy Privacy Across the Public/Private Divide In their 2020 Article, Protecting Energy Privacy Across the Public/Private Divide, Professor Matthew Kugler and recent law school graduate Meredith Hurley express concern that the “smart home” revolution poses dangerous privacy risks to homeowners who do not realize that […]
“You’ve Got [Open] [E]mail”—The Unknown Email Privacy Issue and the Need for the Stored Communications Act to Reflect the Modern Utility of the Inbox
James Palanica
Abstract This Note identifies the divided jurisprudence surrounding the protection of opened emails from unauthorized access under the Stored Communications Act and advocates for the interpretation espoused by the Fourth Circuit’s 2019 decision in Hately v. Watts. The traditional view of the Stored Communications Act, as employed by the Department of Justice, neither sufficiently protects […]
Protecting Energy Privacy Across the Public/Private Divide
Matthew B. Kugler & Meredith Hurley
Abstract Energy-usage monitoring can expose much of what takes place insidepeople’s homes and offices. As the “smart home” revolution continues,this data will only become more revealing. Though this information isessential for the development of the smart electric grid, it is also useful toa variety of others: law enforcement, energy-efficiency experts, andmarketers. At present, this data […]
A Faustian Bargain that Undermines Research Participants’ Privacy Rights and Return of Results
Barbara J. Evans & Susan M. Wolf
Abstract A 2018 committee report published by the highly respected National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (the Report) recommends stripping research participants of crucial data privacy rights and discarding decades of carefully deliberated consensus guidelines for the ethical return of results and data from research. This Article traces these disturbing recommendations to three root […]
The Role of GPS and Cell Phone Tracking of Employees in Big Data Law
Written by: Joanna P. Kimbell
Abstract In GPS and Cell Phone Tracking of Employees, Professor Marc McAllister makes a case for limiting the use of cell phone tracking of employees to either noninvestigatory, work-related purposes or misconduct investigations wherein the use of tracking is used only as a means to corroborate evidence that the tracked employee has committed a terminable […]
From Blockbuster to Big Brother: How an Increase in Mobile Phone Apps Has Led to a Decrease in Privacy Under the Video Privacy Protection Act
Carlee Rizzolo
Abstract Congress enacted the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA or the Act) in 1988 to protect consumers by prohibiting video tape service providers from knowingly disclosing their personally identifiable information to any person, without first obtaining consent. The VPPA defines “consumer” as any renter, purchaser, or subscriber. However, the Act does not define the term […]
Towards a Global Data Privacy Standard
Michael L. Rustad & Thomas H. Koenig
Abstract This Article questions the widespread contention that recent updates to European Union (EU) data protection law will drive a disruptive wedge between EU and United States (U.S.) data privacy regimes. Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which took effect in May 2018, gives all EU citizens easier access to their data, a right to […]
“Revenge Porn” Reform: A View From the Front Lines
Written by: Mary Anne Franks
Abstract The legal and social landscape of “revenge porn” has changed dramatically in the last few years. Before 2013, only three states criminalized the unauthorized disclosure of sexually explicit images of adults and few people had ever heard the term “revenge porn.” As of July 2017, thirty-eight states and Washington, D.C. had criminalized the conduct; […]
Breach of Faith: A Lack of Policy for Responding to Data Breaches and What the Government Should Do About It
Written by: Jared Burns
Abstract One data breach in the summer of 2015 against the United States government cost taxpayers more than $350 million. Since 2005, the U.S. government has lost more than 183 million personnel records and countless files containing sensitive information. Despite all of this, the government has failed to create a policy for responding to data […]
Privacy, Mass Intrusion and the Modern Data Breach
Written by: Jon L. Mills & Kelsey Harclerode
Abstract Massive data breaches have practically become a daily occurrence. These breaches reveal intrusive private information about individuals, as well as priceless corporate secrets. Ashley Madison’s breach ruined lives and resulted in suicides. The HSBC breach, accomplished by one of their own, revealed valuable commercial information about the bank and personal information about HSBC customers. […]