Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2022
Publication Title
William & Mary Law Review
Volume
63
First Page
1639
Abstract
Many privacy advocates assume that the key to providing individuals with more privacy protection is strengthening the government's power to directly sanction actors that hurt the privacy interests of citizens. This Article contests the conventional wisdom, arguing that private rights of action are essential for privacy regulation. First, I show how private rights of action make privacy law regimes more effective in general. Private rights of action are the most direct regulatory access point to the private sphere. They leverage private expertise and knowledge, create accountability through discovery, and have expressive value in creating privacy-protective norms. Then to illustrate the general principle, I provide examples of how private rights of action can improve privacy regulation in a suite of key modern privacy problems. We cannot afford to leave private rights of action out of privacy reform. *
Recommended Citation
Lauren Henry Scholz,
Private Rights of Action in Privacy Law, 63
William & Mary Law Review
1639
(2022),
Available at: https://ir.law.fsu.edu/articles/754