By Daniel Solove
George Washington University Law School
This book chapter, originally written in 2006 and updated in 2016, provides a brief history of information privacy law, with a primary focus on United States privacy law. It discusses the development of the common law torts, Fourth Amendment law, the constitutional right to information privacy, numerous federal statutes pertaining to privacy, electronic surveillance laws, and more. It explores how the law has emerged and evolved in response to new technologies that have increased the collection, dissemination, and use of personal information.
CyberPrivacy 