| Privacy and Technology |
| Course Number: 405-0-01 |
Calo | 2 Units |
This seminar explores U.S. privacy law through the lens of American experiences with, and perceptions of, technology. Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis open their seminal article The Right to Privacy with a vivid description of technologic change. The reader learns that "recent inventions" such as "instantaneous photographs … have invaded the sacred precincts of private and domestic life" and how "numerous mechanical devices threaten to make good the prediction that 'what is whispered in the closet shall be proclaimed from the house-tops.'" The examples change, but countless law review articles, court opinions, floor debates, and legislative preambles also begin by describing a technological shift thought to necessitate a change in regulation or interpretation. The evolution of American privacy law seems inexorably bound up in a story about technology.
What role does our perception of technology play in establishing or reforming statutory, common, and constitutional privacy law? Can the way we conceptualize technology shed light on the disconnect between how people talk about privacy and behave in practice? Can it help explain the lag many perceive between the evolution of privacy law and the pace of technologic change? Through a series of readings that include case law, statutes, and academic scholarship, seminar participants will gain a working understanding of American privacy law by examining its intersection with our individual and collect experiences of technology.
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| Calendar: Quarter Calendar |
| Enrollment: Lottery - Max Enrollment 21 |
| Grading system: Honors-Pass |
| Elements used in grading: Attendance, class participation and essays |
| Type of exam: None |
| Specific graduation requirements met: Writing |
| Special instructions, rules or deadlines: None |
Spring Overview
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