Presentation Title

Three Dilemmas for American Privacy Policy

The United States faces three dilemmas in formulating and implementing information privacy policy. First, jurisdiction over privacy matters is shared by the states and the federal government. There is an ongoing struggle over the extent to which federal law should preempt state law. Some federal laws preempt state laws, and some preserve strong state privacy laws. Second, there are approximately 15 major information privacy laws at the federal level. Each law applies to different records or record keepers, and each law has different standards. Reconciling these laws is difficult because different sectors of the economy are blending together. In addition, many records and record keepers are not subject to any information privacy law. Third, the American sectoral approach to privacy differs significantly from the omnibus approach taken by the European Union and much of the rest of the industrialized world. Companies operating internationally and those who use the Internet find it challenging to function in the differing privacy regimes.