ABSTRACT
In a digital world, every move and action can be tracked, collected, archived and analyzed. While the law can vary by state, US courts have generally recognized four different types of invasion of privacy: public disclosure of private and embarrassing facts, false light, misappropriation, and intrusion. This chapter covers each briefly and how they pertain to the Internet. Since 1986, technology has advanced at a breakneck speed while electronic privacy law has remained at a standstill, making privacy laws grossly outdated and out of touch with how people use, store and share information nowadays. The chapter considers some existing loopholes in US privacy law, along with how it compares to other nations. Tired of waiting for the federal government to act, some states have implemented their own laws aimed at protecting digital privacy. In 2018 the E.U. implemented its General Data Protection Regulation, which imposes strict data privacy regulations on European companies and empowers individuals to protect their information online.
