Privacy Law Commons^™

Regenerating Justice: Chatgpt And The Legal Minefield Of Generative Ai, Katie Szilagyi

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper adopts an automation bias lens to cast doubt on the growing claims that GenAI is a transformational tool for legal industry. In this context, automation bias refers to the well-known psychological phenomenon in which human decision-makers unwittingly defer to automated processes, flowing from overreliance on the accuracy of the automation. Even well-meaning individuals aiming to keep a “human-in-the-loop” of any automated decision can fall prey to this well-documented phenomenon, trusting the technology more than it deserves to be trusted. Champions for current GenAI technologies often do acknowledge limitations within the existing landscape of tools, like GenAI’s tendency to …

The Law Of Digital Resurrection, Victoria J. Haneman

Scholarly Works

The digital right to be dead has yet to be recognized as an important legal right. Artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and nanotechnology have progressed to the point that personal data can be used to resurrect the deceased in digital form with appearance, voice, emotion, and memory recreated to allow interaction with a digital app, chat bot, or avatar that may be indistinguishable from that with a living person. Users may now have a completely immersive experience simply by loading the personal data of the deceased into a neural network to create a chatbot that inherits features and idiosyncrasies of the …

The Illusion Of Inclusion: The False Promise Of The New Governance Project For Content Moderation, Brenda Dvoskin

Scholarship@WashULaw

Because private companies now control the most prominent communication platforms, the most pressing question in the field of content moderation is how to ensure that the governance of public discourse responds to public values. The prevailing approach, given that the state cannot regulate speech directly, is that state regulation can be substituted with audited self-regulation, broad stakeholder participation, and negotiated rulemaking. In this model, which this article refers to as the “new governance model for content moderation,” companies include advocates as representatives of the public in their processes to govern online speech. Ideally, they negotiate policy goals and share responsibility …

Ai Ethics, Law, And Policy, Pauline Kim, Ryan Durrie

Scholarship@WashULaw

AI technologies promise many benefits, but they can also have significant negative impacts on human health, safety, well-being, and fundamental rights. This chapter explores the different governance tools that have been considered for guiding developments in AI in socially beneficial ways, examining the relevance of ethics, law, and policy. Each of these approaches offer tools to address these concerns; however, each has limitations, and none provides a complete solution in itself. Statements of ethical principles can articulate high-level values and goals to guide behavior but are usually quite vague and difficult to operationalize. They also lack any enforcement mechanism. In …

Dark Patterns In The Opt-Out Process And Compliance With The California Consumer Privacy Act (Ccpa), Jens Frankenreiter, Van Hong Tran, Aarushi Mehrotra, Ranya Sharma, Marshini Chetty, Nick Feamster, Lior Strahilevitz

Scholarship@WashULaw

To protect consumer privacy, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) mandates that businesses provide consumers with a straightforward way to opt out of the sale and sharing of their personal information. However, the control that businesses enjoy over the opt-out process allows them to impose hurdles on consumers aiming to opt out, including by employing dark patterns. Motivated by the enactment of the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), which strengthens the CCPA and explicitly forbids certain dark patterns in the opt-out process, we investigate how dark patterns are used in opt-out processes and assess their compliance with CCPA regulations. Our …

Re-Recording The Record: The Case For A Stronger Moral Right Of Integrity In The United States, Alexandria Touron

Fordham Law Review

In the United States, musical artists have limited legal recourse over transferring ownership of their music to third parties, even when such transfers may harm the artist’s reputation or the integrity of the work. Even the most prominent musicians, like Taylor Swift, must operate within an industry structure that normalizes the transfer of rights and, thus, control of their creative works. This occurs because U.S. law ties artists’ rights almost exclusively to economic ownership of their work unless they specifically bargain to keep their moral rights. However, most other countries have comprehensive moral rights frameworks where all artists can protect …

Centering The Vulnerable Through Data Protection, Scott Skinner-Thompson

Publications

No abstract provided.

An American's Guide To The Eu Ai Act, Margot Kaminski, Andrew D. Selbst

Publications

The EU AI Act entered into force in August 2024. The AI Act is long. It is complicated. It relies on a regulatory framework and institutions unfamiliar to many in the United States. But as the first omnibus AI regulation worldwide, it has the potential to have a vast influence on both practice and lawmaking.

In this Article, we provide the American's Guide to the EU AI Act. This Article breaks down the AI Act for a U.S. law audience, explaining the overall mechanisms, and how the Act interacts with background EU laws and institutions. At its core, the AI …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Voting Matters: Materiality Considerations And The Shareholder Vote, Renee M. Jones

Seattle University Law Review

For the shareholder franchise to have meaning, shareholders must have access to relevant information to inform their voting decisions. The securities laws’ disclosure requirements play an essential role in informing the shareholder vote.

This Essay focuses on the question of the materiality of information in the context of shareholder voting. It addresses the question of whether ESG-related information is material, positioning the materiality inquiry within the context of shareholders’ voting decisions. It explores the definition of materiality with a focus on the “reasonable investor” concept embedded within the definition. The Essay argues that the implicit expectations of many commentators that …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Understanding The Big Three’S Wavering Support Of Environmental And Social Shareholder Proposals, Jeff Schwartz, Jefferson Jensen

Seattle University Law Review

Because of their substantial equity portfolios, BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street (the Big 3) are central players in corporate governance. It is, therefore, critical to understand how they vote. One puzzle is that their support for shareholder proposals on environmental and social matters appears to waiver. In 2020, for instance, BlackRock supported 11.1% of environmental proposals at S&P 500 firms. In 2021, it seemingly reversed course, supporting 55.2%. It then flipped again, supporting 32.1% in 2022. Such statistics suggest that the Big 3 are constantly changing their views on these topics. This Article seeks to better understand whether this is …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Co-Constructing The Future Of Digital Intimacy, Chris Geeng, Lucy Qin, Allison Mcdonald, Amna Batool, Diana Freed, Oliver L. Haimson, Jevan Hutson, Elissa M. Redmiles, Zahra Stardust, Miranda Wei, Douglas Zytko

Articles

The Internet, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies have transformed the way humans can interact with each other and express romance, sex, and other forms of intimacy. Digital intimacy, including online dating, sexual/intimate content sharing, online sex work, and romantic chatbots, has grown ubiquitous. This can both be a source of great joy, such as when connecting remote partners and supporting sexual self-expression, and a source of harms, including but not limited to image-based sexual abuse, deepfakes, location privacy violations, and technology-enabled intimate partner violence. As new technologies continue to transform digital intimacy, this workshop aims to create a sex-positive …

Artificial Intelligence And The Hipaa Privacy Rule: A Primer, Stacey A. Tovino

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Increasing Congressional Oversight Of Fisa Section 702 After Risaa, Noah C. Chauvin

Faculty Articles

In April of 2024, Congress passed the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act ("RISAA"). This bill reauthorized Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ("FISA'), an important counterterrorism authority that was intended to make it easier for the government to spy on foreign terrorists but which has been repeatedly abused to spy on Americans. While RISAA enacted modest surveillance reforms, it also included substantial expansions of the government's spying powers. Moreover, it largely left intact the existing oversight regime for Section 702, which is deficient as a matter of law, policy, and fact.

This article assesses the extent to …

Data Injustice In Global Justice, Asaf Lubin, Cherry Tang

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In May 2020, the United Nations Secretary-General unveiled a sweeping “Data Strategy for Action by Everyone, Everywhere,” seeking to unlock the UN’s “full data potential.” The International Criminal Court’s Office of the Prosecutor followed suit, declaring in 2023 its intent to acquire advanced cyber forensic tools so as to hold the “widest range of digital evidence globally.” Across international institutions, data-driven governance has become the norm, with humanitarian agencies and tribunals transforming into “data hubs and information clearinghouses.” This Article critiques the unfettered datafication of global justice by international courts and organizations. These entities have aggressively expanded their data-driven operations …

Urgensi Pembentukan Lembaga Pengawas Data Pribadi Sebagai Upaya Preventif Kebocoran Data Pribadi, Salsa Hardafi

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

The rapid advancement of information technology has intensified the risks of personal data breaches and violations of privacy rights. Although Law Number 27 of 2022 on Personal Data Protection (PDP Law) has established a comprehensive legal framework for personal data protection in Indonesia, its effective implementation remains constrained by the absence of the Personal Data Protection Supervisory Authority (PDP Authority). This institutional absence creates a structural authority vacuum that weakens preventive measures, law enforcement mechanisms, and alternative dispute resolution in personal data protection. Through normative legal analysis using Hans Kelsen’s Stufenbau Theory, Nonet and Selznick’s Responsive Law Theory, and Satjipto …

Confronting The Challenges Of Regulating Artificial Intelligence, Amy B. Cyphert

FIU Law Review

Public opinion polls conclude that the American public is in favor of regulating artificial intelligence (“AI”), and many technology companies publicly claim that they would welcome regulation. And yet the United States has struggled to enact federal comprehensive AI regulations beyond a short-lived Executive Order. Why? Part I of this Article explains why regulating AI is so difficult, focusing on six key reasons: AI is a global issue; AI is not one discrete issue; AI is developing at a speed that is unprecedented; lawmakers largely lack the technical expertise effective AI regulation requires; the stakes of getting the regulation wrong …

Gig Work At What Cost? Exploring Privacy Risks Of Gig Work Platform Participation In The U.S., Amogh Pradeep, Johanna Gunawan, Álvaro Feal, Woodrow Hartzog, David Choffnes

Faculty Scholarship

In recent years, "gig work" platforms have gained popularity as a way for individuals to earn money; as of 2021, 16% of Americans have at some point earned money from such platforms. Despite their popularity and their history of unfair data collection practices and worker safety, little is known about the data collected from workers (and users) by gig platforms and about the privacy dark pattern designs present in their apps.

This paper presents an empirical measurement of 16 gig work platforms' data practices in the U.S. We analyze what data is collected by these platforms, and how it is …

Normalizing Facial Recognition Technology And The End Of Obscurity, Woodrow Hartzog, Evan Selinger, Judy Hyojoo Rhee

Faculty Scholarship

This article argues that facial recognition technology is the most dangerous surveillance tool ever invented. Given the unique threats this morally suspect tool poses to privacy, civil liberties, human flourishing, and democracy, the only appropriate response is a ban. To justify our position, we explain why facial recognition is distinctive among biometrics, clarify how even seemingly benign and positive uses of the technology can trigger dangerous normalization dynamics, and pinpoint why current United States laws (with reverberations in the EU’s AI Act) are designed to accelerate a slippery slope that makes mass surveillance nearly inevitable. Our most fundamental contribution lies …

Cyber Sexual Misconduct: The Evolution Of Sexual Privacy Laws And Best Practices For Representing Victims, Jolie Bodner Zangari, Lindsay Lieberman

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The Great Scrape: The Clash Between Scraping And Privacy, Daniel J. Solove, Woodrow Hartzog

Faculty Scholarship

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems depend on massive quantities of data, often gathered by “scraping”—the automated extraction of large amounts of data from the internet. A great deal of scraped data contains people’s personal information. This personal data provides the grist for AI tools such as facial recognition, deep fakes, and generative AI. Although scraping enables web searching, archiving of records, and meaningful scientific research, scraping for AI can also be objectionable and even harmful to individuals and society.

Organizations are scraping at an escalating pace and scale, even though many privacy laws are seemingly incongruous with the practice. In this …

Is Hipaa Dead? How Recent Developments In Ftc Section 5 Enforcement May Impact Traditional Notions Of Health Privacy, Brian Patrick

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Dignity Defended, Privacy Preserved: A Call For Improved Legal Safeguards To Shield Victims Of Intimate Crimes From Public Scrutiny, Madeline E. Brown

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Legal Implications Of Digital Health Apps Informing Food Allergy Labeling For Consumers' Health And Privacy Protection, Kathy Keunghee Kim

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines food allergy labeling’s use in a digital format. Allergy information is typically found on food packaging and containers to help consumers identify individually concerned allergens. Given the critical role that food allergy labels play in preventing unexpected allergic reactions before selecting or consuming food, it is essential to comprehend the labeling descriptions. However, current regulations and laws regarding allergy labeling often confuse consumers due to the existence of mandatory and voluntary Precautionary Allergy Labeling (PAL) categories and the absence of laws and regulations that require allergy information for restaurant meals. Technology companies have introduced digital health and …

Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve, Whether You Like It Or Not: How Federal Regulation Can Address Advances In Biometric Technology, Greg Marcus

University of Miami Business Law Review

The use of biometric data for identification and authentication has become a common practice for people and businesses across the world. While these technologies offer a promising means of enhanced security, the emergence of artificial intelligence and machine learning has enabled the analysis of biometric data to reveal some of our most intimate personal information from simple physical characteristics. The rapid advancement of this technology has brought the issue of regulation to the forefront of discussions in both Congress and state legislatures. Accordingly, many states have proposed, and in several instances passed legislation specifically regulating the collection of biometric data. …

Whose Information Is Whose? Adult Adoptees And The Silent Struggle To Access Records, Alyssa Traina

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The United States has fifty-one different laws pertaining to adult adoptee access to their original birth certificates and adoption court records, with only fifteen states being unrestricted. These states give adult adoptees access to their documents upon request. Fifteen states are restricted, meaning they require a court order to obtain documents, which involves proving “good cause” to a judge. This requirement of “good cause” has no standard definition. The remaining twenty-one states are compromised, meaning they have complex requirements to obtain documentation. My research uses case studies of the restricted laws of California, the unrestricted laws of Louisiana, and the …

The Intersection Of Socio-Cultural System And Legislation: Family Protection Laws In Palestine And Gender Equality, Muayad K. Hattab, Fayez A. Mahamid

An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

Arabic and Muslim societies still fear every new proposition or change that could lead to the enhancement of women’s economic liberation or could undermine male domination over women. The social and religious panic associated with the proposed law on “Family Protection Law from Violence” that has been witnessed in Palestine, is a clear illustration of this fear. Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the impact that religious and social culture has on promulgating new laws that are directly connected to issues of women’s rights and gender equality in the Muslim community, where Palestine is the example …

Metagenomic Sequencing For Early Detection Of Future Engineered Pandemics: Foreshadowing The Privacy Challenge, Nir Eyal, Bridget Williams, Kevin M. Esvelt, Jane R. Bambauer

UF Law Faculty Publications

In this commentary, we imagine how a global system of metagenomic sequencing could be governed in order to reap the benefits and manage the risks. Global institutional engineers and their academic partners would need to develop a new governance model to ensure that all partners involved in a global metagenomic surveillance system cooperate as needed.