Privacy and Data Security Harms

[Commentary] Suppose your personal data is lost, stolen, improperly disclosed, or improperly used. Are you harmed?

Suppose a company violates its privacy policy and improperly shares your data with another company. Does this cause a harm? In most cases, courts say no. This is the case even when a company is acting negligently or recklessly. No harm, no foul.

[Solove is Professor of Law at George Washington University]