Privacy, Regulations, and Cybersecurity

CHAPTER 3The Legal Case for Privacy (the Finer Print)

I stared up at the sky and raised my middle finger, just in case God was watching. I don't like being spied on.

—Annabel Pitcher

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece

This is the fun chapter! I mean, who doesn't want to read legal opinions? It's like suggesting that you don't enjoy reading the various user agreements and consent forms before hitting “Accept!” Silly, I know! But, just in case this is not your cup of tea, you can go right ahead and skip this section, and go directly to Part 2: “Regulations.”

For those, clearly superior, intellects who stayed on, I will start with professor's Thomas M. Cooley, Justice and later Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, writing: A Treatise on the Law of Torts or the Wrongs Which Arise Independently of Contract (emphasis added):

§ 101. Violating right of privacy. Within the past few years, the existence of a right of privacy, or right to be let alone, has been considerably discussed in the courts and legal periodicals. The question has arisen mostly in the suits to enjoin or recover damages for the unauthorized use of one's name or likeness for advertising purposes. So far, we believe, the question has been squarely presented and squarely decided by but two courts of last resort. The New York court of appeals has decided against the right by a bare majority of four to three. In a more recent case the supreme court of Georgia has unanimously affirmed the existence of the ...