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Topics in Law & Technology

This Library Guide is intended to provide those studying the various ways in which law and technology intersect with a starting point for their research.

About

This Research Guide is intended to provide a starting point for research into the various ways in which law and technology intersect.  In particular, this Guide comprises resources focused on Information and Data Privacy as well as Data and Cybersecurity.  This Guide also features a selection of resources on a number of broad law-and-technology topics such as Artificial Intelligence (including ChatGPT/GPT-4, and algorithms generally), Social Media and the Law, the "law of the Internet," Biotechnology and the Law, as well as technology issues as pertaining to Environmental Law.  Finally, due to the many ways in which Intellectual Property Law impacts and is, in turn, impacted by Technology, this Research Guide also includes a page of general resources in the overarching area of Intellectual Property.  The user is invited to visit the Law Library's Intellectual Property Research Guide for additional and more specific resources in this doctrinal area.

The user should note that the materials featured in this Research Guide are intended to be suggestive, rather than prescriptive or comprehensive.  That is, the intention is to present the user with an overview of the Law Library's collection in these areas, with the hope that one or more titles may spark curiosity about a particular topic.  All materials listed here are available in the Law Library in print form, but in some cases electronic access may also be available.  Accordingly, the remote/ online user is encouraged to check the Law Library's catalog to find out whether other editions/ versions are available.

Information and Data Privacy

In their seminal 1891 Harvard Law Review article, future Supreme Court Justices Warren and Brandeis famously framed an initial definition of Privacy as consisting in "the right to be let alone." (Samuel D. Warren & Louis D. Brandeis, The Right to Privacy, 4 HARV. L. REV. 193 (1890-1891)).

Privacy and legal scholars have since enhanced that definition.  Noted privacy scholar Alan Westin defined Privacy as "...the claim of individuals, groups, or institutions to determine for themselves when, how, and to what extent information about them is communicated to others..." (Alan Westin, Privacy and Freedom 5 (1967)).

Today, as defined in Black's Law Dictionary (11th Ed., 2019), the term PRIVACY is broadly defined to mean and refer to:

"The quality, state, or condition of being free from public attention to intrusion into or interference with one's acts or decisions" and comprises the following:

"autonomy privacy - An individual's right to control his or her personal activities or intimate personal decisions without outside interference, observation, or intrusion; informational privacy - A private person's right to choose to determine whether, how, and to what extent information about oneself is communicated to others, esp. sensitive and confidential information; and personal privacy -  A person's interest in nondisclosure or selective disclosure of confidential or private information or matters relating to his or her person."

Primary Sources - Federal Statutes

The following is a list of U.S. Federal legislation pertaining to Information Privacy/ Data Privacy and Cyber- and Information Security.

The legislation is presented in chronological order, to provide the user with an idea of the development of this area of law over time.

1970s

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) of 1970 (15 U.S.C. §§ 1681 et seq.)

Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 (Pub L. 91-508)

Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. §552a)

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 (20 U.S.C. §§ 1221; 1232g)

Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. §§ 3401-3422)

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978 (15 U.S.C. §§ 1801-1811)

1980s

Privacy Protection Act (PPA) of 1980 (42 U.S.C. § 2000aa)

Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 (47 U.S.C. § 551)

Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986 (18 U.S.C. § 2510-2522 & 2701-2709)

Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 (5 U.S.C. § 552a)

Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (29 U.S.C. §§ 22001-2009)

Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) of 1988 (18 U.S.C. §§ 2710 - 2711)

1990s

Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991 (47 U.S.C. § 227)

Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994 (18 U.S.C. §§ 2721-2725)

Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Pub. L. No. 103-414)

Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Pub. L. No. 104-193)

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-191; 45 C.F.R. 160, 162, 164)

Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act (ITADA) of 1998 (18 U.S.C. § 1028)

Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998 (15 U.S.C. §§ 6501-6506)

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) of 1999 (15 U.S.C. §§ 6801-6809)

2000s

Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (USA Patriot Act) of 2001 (Pub. L. No 107-56)

Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM Act) of 2003

Video Voyeurism Prevention Act of 2004 (18 U.S.C. § 1801)

FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (Pub. L. No. 110-261)

Getting Started

The titles below are a selection of the study aids and materials available through the Panza Maurer Law Library to provide those studying issues in Information and Data Privacy with a starting point for their research.

NOTE:  The links below will take the user to the Law Library's online study aids collection.  The inclusion of a Call Number indicates that the Law Library also has the particular title in print, although the print resource may be an earlier edition of the title.

The titles below are selected hornbooks that provide a general overview of Information Privacy Law and Data Privacy Law.  These resources will generally provide more in-depth coverage of these areas than the study guides described in this page.

NOTE:  The links below will take the user to the Law Library's online collection.  The inclusion of a Call Number indicates that the Law Library also has the particular title in print, although the print resource may be an earlier edition of the title.

Selected Secondary Sources

The titles below are a selection of both law-specific and interdisciplinary materials in the areas of Information Privacy and Data Privacy that are available through the Panza Maurer Law Library.

NOTE:  Where the Law Library has a title as part of an online collection, the links below will take the user to the Law Library's online collection.  The inclusion of a Call Number indicates that the Law Library has the particular title in print, although if the title is also available in electronic format, the print resource may be an earlier edition.

Additional Online Resources