As Demand for Consumer Data Increases, So Does the Need for Data Privacy Laws

• Author: Christina M. Jordan
• Pages: 2-3

Published in Litigation News Volume 45, Number 3, Spring 20 20. © 2020 by the Ameri can Bar Association. Re produced with per mission. All rights re served. This info rmation or any porti on thereof may not be c opied or disseminated in any

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2 | S ECTION OF LITIGATION

TECHNOLOGY

he demand for consumer s’ personal infor mation

is at an all-ti me high, as ta rgeted marketing is

now able to use big data to process la rge amounts of

personal infor mation accurately and at a fast pace.

However, there currently is no n ationwide federal

privacy legislation to prote ct consumers’ data privacy rights

or to inform companie s as to what constitutes a violation.

How can lawyers help client s navigate data privacy issues so

that consumers k now their rights a nd companies know how

to use and protect dat a?

Invasion of Data Pri vacy

Data privacy intru sions are not often brought about by

choice. Consumers a re now used to seeing targeted ads

on the computer screen as a res ult of previous searches.

Marketing spe cialists are aware of consumers’ buyin g hab-

its, frequently visit ed websites, movies watched, foods eaten,

and much more. Political ca mpaigns also routinely harvest

similar in formation to assist in assessing li kely voting prefer-

ences. Many compan ies have implemented biometric systems

to log in employees at their place s of work, or have securit y

systems that ca n monitor how often and when you clocked in

and clocked out, when you logged i n to your work computer,

and when you logged off.

By Christina M. Jo rdan, Litigation N ews Associate Editor

As Demand for Consumer Data

Increases, So Does the Need for Data

Privacy Laws

Such private, persona l, and biometric in formation is col-

lected and proce ssed by corporate entities and the govern-

ment. How this in formation is shared , with whom, and how

long it is stored are import ant factors to consider, as an indi-

vidual is likely to suf fer irreversible harm, and companies

may be liable for violations if p ersonal data is compromised.

Developing Regu latory and Le gal Lands cape of

Data Privacy and P rotection

While there i s no central federal privac y law in the United

States, in 2016, the Eu ropean Union (EU) adopted the

General Data Prote ction Regulation (GDPR), which provides

data privacy protect ion for EU citizens. The GDPR recog-

nizes that p ersonal data protec tion is a fundamental right

and that persona l data should be proces sed lawfully, fairly,

and in a transpa rent manner. The GDPR also limits t he

lawful basis for wh ich personal data m ay be collected, pro -

cesse d, and transferred. Perm issible uses of personal data under

the GDPR may con ict with discovery in U.S. l itigation, which

often relies on acce ss to electronically stored infor mation.

Lawmakers are b eginning to propose federal privacy le g-

islation, but national le gislation does not see m imminent.

Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii,

Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi,

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