Small Steps for Congress, Huge Steps for Online Privacy

Authors

Jugpreet Mann

Abstract

As the creation of data has exponentially increased with Internet usage, U.S. companies have found a variety of ways to collect personal data and create value from such data. This innovation, however, comes at the cost of an individual's right to privacy. The U.S. government's current approach to online privacy has failed to properly regulate the collection and utilization of the immense amounts of personal data being generated. This note explains how companies collect and create value from personal information. This note draws upon the history of privacy, how Congress currently addresses online privacy, and the states' and other nations' legislative approaches to online privacy. This note focuses on the need to improve current U.S. legislation, weighs the benefits and consequences of various approaches, and proposes small, yet impactful, steps that Congress can take while expansive legislation is being debated.

Recommended Citation

Jugpreet Mann, Small Steps for Congress, Huge Steps for Online Privacy, 37 UC Law SF Comm. & Ent. L.J. 365 (2015).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_comm_ent_law_journal/vol37/iss2/6