Privacy Law Commons^™

Algorithmic Law In Contemporary Brazil: From Cyber-Libertarianism To Constitutional Rights, Pedro Rubim Borges Fortes

Latin American & Caribbean Law Review

This article provides a reflection of Brazilian algorithmic law, exploring how law regulates algorithms by defining prohibitions, permissions, standards, and rights in contemporary Brazil. Importantly, the concept of “algorithmic law” implies a normative idea, that is, that law should regulate algorithms, defining prohibitions, permissions, standards, and rights. This study examines the ideological transformation of law and technology, as Brazilian society moved from a libertarian approach to a perspective of establishing protective legislation, regulation, and constitutional rights to technology users. It explains the ‘Civil Rights Framework for the Internet.’ the ‘General Data Protection Law,’ the legislative project of an Artificial Intelligence …

News That Will Not Break: How The First And Fourth Amendments Can Jointly Protect The Press From Secret Government Intrusions Into Newsgathering, Julianna Margolin

Fordham Law Review

The modern constitutional and statutory framework permits the U.S. government to obtain journalists’ confidential source information and work product by secretly serving third-party service providers with subpoenas. While the First Amendment protects journalists and the Fourth Amendment guards against unreasonable government searches, new technology and the involvement of third parties complicate the balance between independent newsgathering and government access.

This Note examines reporters’ privilege jurisprudence stemming from the seminal U.S. Supreme Court decision Branzburg v. Hayes, which declined to recognize a categorical privilege. This Note also explores the subpoena power in the digital age as it converges with privacy …

The Mirage Of Meta Pixel Code: Redefining Pii In The Era Of Generative Ai, Sophie Venter

Fordham Law Review

Data privacy laws are intended to put consumers in control of whether their identifying data can be sold and used for targeted advertising. However, these laws do not provide adequate protections in the era of generative artificial intelligence (AI). This Note examines one way that existing privacy law permits companies to profit from selling data for targeted advertising without obtaining user consent: transferring video watching data in a pixel code. Some U.S. Courts of Appeals have determined that these data transfers do not sufficiently identify users and the videos they watched to constitute violations of user privacy. This has led …

Video Killed The Privacy Star: How The Sixth Circuit's Cabined Interpretation Of "Consumer" In Salazar V. Paramount Global Risks Gutting The Vppa's Privacy Protections, Nadine Fernando

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Police Surveillance And The Perils Of Techno-Solutionism, Prithika Balakrishnan

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This Article charts domestic law enforcement’s use of video surveillance, beginning in the backlash to the Civil Rights movement in the late 1960s, continuing through the War on Terror and, more recently, in the context of the post-George Floyd public critiques of policing. The undergirding philosophy of policing’s embrace of surveillance technology is techno-solutionism, the view that all complex social situations can be simplified to measurable data primed for quick-fix, unbiased, algorithmic answers. While technology may have initially been adopted by police to respond to specific problems, it has changed the problems themselves, altered the array of potential solutions, and …

Masthead

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Davis V. Dist. Ct., 123 Nev. Adv. Op. 58 (Aug. 27, 2026), Tristen Fleig

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

In Davis v. Dist. Ct., the Supreme Court upheld the court's authority to issue orders and impose sanctions during discovery, after Petitioner claimed NAC 641.234(3) limited the court's authority to order disclosure of psychologist data.

Getting Money Out Of Politics By Putting Money Into Politics: A Few Modest Proposals To Reform Seattle’S Democracy Voucher Program, Decker O’Donnell

Seattle University Law Review

Seattle’s Democracy Voucher Program offers an unconventional response to the growing influence of money in American elections: rather than restricting political spending, it seeks to amplify the participation of ordinary voters by providing publicly funded vouchers that residents may assign to participating candidates. This Article examines the program’s development, operation, and constitutional foundation within the modern campaign-finance framework established by Buckley v. Valeo and subsequent Supreme Court decisions. It argues that democracy vouchers provide a constitutionally viable means of broadening participation in campaign financing while mitigating the influence of wealthy donors. The Article identifies two weaknesses in the current system: …

Who Decides The Dead? Interpreting Washington’S Disposition Of Remains Statute, Wyatt Young

Seattle University Law Review

Washington’s disposition-of-remains statute, RCW 68.50.160, is designed to honor a decedent’s expressed wishes regarding the control and disposition of their body after death. Yet recent litigation reveals a critical gap between the statute’s intent-centered design and its practical enforceability. In Larotonda v. Blackburn, a trial court acknowledged that irreparable harm would occur if a decedent’s burial wishes were ignored but nonetheless denied relief on the grounds that the individual designated to carry out those wishes lacked standing. The result was a legal paradox: a statute that recognizes decedent autonomy in theory but withholds any meaningful mechanism for its enforcement …

Legal Malpractice In Washington: Use Of The Rules Of Professional Conduct, Angelo Tadrous

Seattle University Law Review

Legal malpractice claims are difficult to prove. They are difficult to prove because many jurisdictions require that a plaintiff prove that, but for the lawyer’s misconduct, the client would have fared better. Thus, in a malpractice suit, a plaintiff must try a case within a case. Despite this difficulty, many jurisdictions prohibit the use of the Rules of Professional Conduct when litigating a malpractice case. Washington State is one of these jurisdictions. The Washington Supreme Court held in Hizey v. Carpenter that the Rules of Professional Conduct may not be referred to during trial. This Note argues that this prohibition …

Converting Buildings Is Hard: Why Seattle’S Municipal Government Should Streamline Commercial-To-Residential Conversions, Tyler M. King

Seattle University Law Review

The conversion of commercial buildings into housing is a promising solution to the growing housing crisis in many urban areas. However, despite its potential benefits, the process of repurposing commercial spaces is often stymied by complex zoning codes, high conversion costs, and bureaucratic hurdles. This Article argues that the local and state governments in Seattle should adopt more streamlined policies and offer greater incentives to developers to facilitate these conversions. By reforming zoning regulations and providing targeted financial support, municipalities can reduce the barriers to conversion and unlock the potential of underutilized commercial properties. This article examines the legal and …

Las Vegas Police Protective Association V. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Citizen Review Board, 142 Nev. Adv. Op. 55 (Aug. 20, 2026), Enya Dinca

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Under Las Vegas Police Protective Association v. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Citizen Review Board, the CRB must identify officers under review on public meeting agendas, and officers lack a nontrivial privacy interest in names and badge numbers that are already publicly disclosed.

Beyond Walls And Wires: The Supreme Court’S Recognition Of Digital Privacy Under The Fourth Amendment, Joanna Morris

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

The Founding Fathers included the Fourth Amendment in the Bill of Rights to protect individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures and their right to privacy. However, rapid advances in modern digital technology have challenged traditional definitions of privacy, raising constitutional questions about digital privacy rights. Smartphones and location tracking collects personal information that does not fit neatly within pre-digital era Fourth Amendment doctrines. This research examines how the United States Supreme Court has adapted interpretations of the Fourth Amendment to address digital privacy concerns, focusing on the tensions between Fourth Amendment doctrines and technology that enables extensive government access to …

Smart Contracts And Contractual Interpretation, Abhinav Ravi

Indian Journal of Law and Technology

This essay examines the challenges that smart contracts pose for contractual interpretation. While smart contracts are often viewed as unambiguous because they operate through deterministic computer code, disputes may nevertheless arise where the outcome produced by the code diverges from the parties’ understanding of their agreement. The essay argues that these disputes are not adequately addressed by treating code as a definitive expression of contractual intention or by adopting the ‘reasonable coder’ standard proposed by the United Kingdom (‘UK’) Law Commission. The reasonable coder standard is theoretically incoherent because it lacks alignment, generality, and reviewability and therefore cannot perform the …

Brief Of Public Health And Health Law Scholars As Amici Curiae Urging Affirmance In Support Of Plaintiffs-Appellees, Rachel L. Zacharias, Zeinab Bakhet, Kevin Costello, Maya Manian

Amicus Briefs & Court Filings

INTRODUCTION: Physicians’ use of their judgment and expertise to prescribe drugs and devices for purposes other than those approved by the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”)—colloquially known as off-label use—is an indispensable feature of modern medicine. The FDA approves drugs as “safe and effective for specific indications.” Christopher M. Wittich, Christopher M. Burkle & William L. Lanier, Ten Common Questions (and Their Answers) About OffLabel Drug Use, 87 Mayo Clinic Procs. 982, 982 (2012). Federal law then generally leaves prescribing decisions, including off-label use of FDA-approved drugs and devices for a patient’s particular indication, to physicians acting under state law …

Think Your Cellphone Data Is Protected Without A Search Warrant? Think Again., Adam M. Gershowitz

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Toward A Private Law Of Intimates' Obligations, Emily J. Stolzenberg

Faculty Publications

When former cohabitants ask courts to distribute property at the end of a nonmarital relationship, they usually lose—even when the partners were as economically intertwined as spouses. Family law scholars have traditionally criticized these cases in terms of longstanding gendered ideas about family relationships. This Article proposes a complementary account at the intersection of feminist and private law theory: that the law of voluntary obligations is not adequately developed to protect intimates’ cooperation. Although marital status law aims to safeguard thick cooperation between spouses and contract law captures a range of more market-based cooperation, for historically contingent reasons, little doctrine …

Melding Existing Models Of Government-Assisted Insurance To Create A Comprehensive Federal Cyber Insurance Program, Patrick Miskovsky

Student Journal of Information Privacy Law

This article discusses the need for federal policy in the cybersecurity insurance market, and it considers whether existing federal insurance programs could serve as models for a national cyber insurance regime.  After framing the issue through a discussion of current cyber risks, the article examines the structure and mechanics of three existing federal insurance programs: the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program, the National Flood Insurance Program, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.  The article concludes by noting that elements of each would be essential in a federal cyber insurance program, and that policymakers should consider the extent to which these models …

The Final Payroll: Human Resources, Meet Machine Resources, Sarah Yee

Student Journal of Information Privacy Law

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly embedded in employment practices, particularly in hiring and screening, the need for robust regulatory frameworks is urgent. This Article focuses on the growing use of AI in workplace decision-making, highlighting the risks of algorithmic bias and discrimination. It argues that while the United States lacks a unified legal approach to governing AI in employment, the European Union (EU) has taken a more proactive and comprehensive stance. Through instruments like the proposed EU AI Act and existing data protection laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the EU imposes meaningful obligations on employers …

The Structural Problem With Real-Time Crime Centers, Holly Merclich

Student Journal of Information Privacy Law

Since the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, the government has become fixated with public safety, oftentimes at the expense of individual privacy. The surveillance state expanded after this in the early 2000s, and the country’s first Real Time Crime Centers were born. Real Time Crime Centers are hubs where different technologies and information are fused and aggregated into one easy to use space. Data outputs from automated license plate readers, closed circuit television, and various law enforcement databases are aggregated into one single pane of glass view to achieve higher rates of case closures and increase the efficiency of …

Blurred Lines: How Mandatory Arbitration Clauses In Termsof Service Agreements Undermine Privacy Law Frameworks, Owen Curnin

Student Journal of Information Privacy Law

Following the birth of the Federal Arbitration Act–which made arbitration agreements valid, enforceable, and irrevocable in courts of law–mandatory arbitration clause use in commercial, consumer, and employment contracts exploded. These types of clauses require parties to submit all disputes arising out of or related to a contract to an impartial third party. This third party, known as the arbitrator, reviews the facts, listens to the parties’ arguments, and makes a final, binding decision resolving the dispute. Corporations have long relied on mandatory arbitration clauses to resolve disputes privately and confidentially, often hoping to avoid the public scrutiny and accountability associated …

A Framework For The Use Of Facial Recognition Technology In Policing: Is Your Face Equivalent To Your Ip Address?, Amirah Farooq

Student Journal of Information Privacy Law

This paper argues that police use of facial recognition technology constitutes a “search” within the meaning of section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and therefore requires prior judicial authorization. Part A provides the background for this argument and begins with a case study of Clearview AI to establish the regulatory gap in Canadian AI legislation. Part B develops this argument by relying on the rules of evidence, the Charter, and analogies drawn from current case law. Part C addresses counterarguments. Part D concludes with a summary of the proposed framework and emphasizes the importance of a …

Like, Share, & Comply: Recommendation Algorithms & Ftc Enforcement Authority, Alexandra Logan

Student Journal of Information Privacy Law

As recommendation algorithms and generative artificial intelligence become central to digital platforms, the Federal Trade Commission has, in the past, increasingly signaled its intent to regulate emerging technologies under Section 5 authority to prevent unfair or deceptive acts or practices. This paper examines how companies may face Federal Trade Commission scrutiny when algorithmic design, personalization systems, or public representations result in consumer harm. Drawing on case studies involving TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, and others, the paper explores the limitations of plaintiff litigation under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and examines this potential avenue of expanding federal administrative enforcement. It …

Courts, Science, And The Problem Of Accountable Knowledge: A Review Of Judicial Policy Making, Empirical Data And Scientific Evidence: Can Courts Manage The Twenty-First Century?, Rishabh Kachroo

Indian Journal of Law and Technology

This review reads Rob van Gestel, Jurgen de Poorter, and Edward L. Rubin’s edited volume titled Judicial Policy Making, Empirical Data and Scientific Evidence: Can Courts Manage the Twenty-First Century? as a timely intervention into the evidentiary and institutional demands placed on contemporary courts. It argues that the volume’s key contribution lies in treating courts as knowledge institutions and its strongest suit lies in showing the limits of judicial intuition, anecdote, and inherited legal categories in dealing with such disputes. While the volume is left wanting in its account of knowledge accountability, it would nonetheless be important for scholars of …

Privacy, Paternalism, And Standing In Health Professions Regulation, Anthony Sangiuliano

Dalhousie Law Journal

When investigating whether a doctor has behaved unethically while treating a patient, professional regulatory colleges may search patients’ confidential medical records without patients’ consent. I argue that this practice is not paternalistic, nor does it usurp patients’ standing to decide for themselves whether to sacrifice their privacy to hold the doctor to account for professional wrongdoing. College investigations that non-consensually invade patient privacy do not express disrespect for patients’ agency because they aim to mitigate harm to the broader public. Unlike criminal prosecutions of doctors which uphold moral values pervading the public at large, college investigations enforce ethical standards within …

A Legal Comedy Of Errors: Foia’S Judicial Drama Over Who Controls The Oversight Script, Caroline Savini

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Should I Supersede Or Should I Go: Individual Protection And Private Company Interests In Implementing A Federal Biometric Privacy Law, Jessica Oshanani

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

(Excerpt)

Section I of this Note will define and discuss biometrics. Section II will discuss key biometrics legislation and Section III will explain the impact of BIPA on other state biometric privacy laws.

Next, Section IV will explain the impact of biometric privacy violations and separate controlling state laws on individuals, while Section V will explain the impact of biometric data laws on private companies.

Section VI will identify potential federal laws on the horizon, then Section VII will explain the concept and application of preemption.

Finally, Section VIII will discuss the benefits of administrative agency overview, and Section IX …

Digital Bodily Autonomy: Consent Issues, Labor Displacement, And Legal Understandings Of Ai Generated Deepfake Pornography, Mariah Barrett

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

In the United States, nonconsensual pornographic deepfakes are becoming an increasingly prevalent problem as AI deepfake creation software improves and becomes widely available. Despite this, patchwork legislation across the country is inconsistent and conflicting regarding this issue. In this paper, I explore the background of pornography and obscenity laws and demonstrate how these frameworks are not properly constructed to apply to the digital sphere. Then, I address major themes within deepfake literature such as consent issues, bodily autonomy, labor displacement, and verifiable identity as a commodity through the case study of OnlyFans. I explore current and proposed legislation within the …

The Fourth Amendment In Parallax: Why California's New Speed Cameras Should Prompt Increased Scrutiny For Surveillance Networks, Arman Sookiassian

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

With the passage of Assembly Bill 645 in 2023, California has authorized speed camera pilot programs in six cities throughout the state. The goal for this legislation is to reduce speeding and speed- related casualties through a network of automated traffic surveillance. By issuing civil fines for speeding violations detected by the camera, the hope is that motorists will reduce their speed on the road.

Though touted as a way to deter speeding motorists, a network of automated cameras invites privacy concerns. The Bill attempts to address these concerns, in large part, by assuring that the photographs and other metadata …