The CCPA: A Bargain for Data Transparency
Sonia Brunstad The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), aims to increase consumer transparency regarding businesses’ use of personal data. Within the bargained-for-exchange relationship between companies and consumers, consumers benefit from data-collecting platforms while unknowingly paying the “price” of sharing personal data. The CCPA assumes that equipping consumers with increased transparency regarding such data-for-service transactions will place consumers in a better bargaining position. In so doing, the CCPA adopts an individualist framework, providing consumers with primarily self-management mechanisms to protect personal data. This essay argues that legislation such as the CCPA may more...
Through the Spying-Glass: Data Privacy Concerns Regarding Mobile Spyware Apps
Payton P. Reisinger Spyware app surveillance technologies are rising in popularity for both legitimate monitoring and also to illegally spy on unsuspecting victims. In 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its first ban of a spyware app, SpyFone, due to deceptive and unfair trade practices and lack of data security provisions. Some call for specific legislation to curb the effects of growing spyware apps, but opponents of regulation claim that legislative efforts will be too restrictive on growing technological industries or the legitimate uses of spyware apps. This Essay agrees with the policy rationale for implementing spyware legislation and...