Incomparability And The Passive Virtues Of Ad Hoc Privacy Policy

Privacy policy in the United States has, for the most part, developed in an ad hoc manner, with Congress reacting to one crisis after another and enacting sector-specific laws. While this has led to a largely ineffectual privacy regime in the view of many, there are advantages to this approach when compared to an omnibus privacy regime as might be found in Europe and other parts of the world. This paper examines the benefits and costs of the relatively passive, reactive legislative model in America.