Consumer Rights and Laws
Surveillance Pricing: How Your Data Shapes What You Pay
Two shoppers can be offered different prices for the same product because of their personal data, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). A personal offer…
Privacy and Data Protection
Privacy and data protection is about who can collect, see, and keep information about you, and what limits apply. It covers personal data held by government agencies and by private companies, along with the tools that gather it, such as cameras, apps, databases, and identity systems. Congress, federal agencies, states, and courts all shape the rules.
Readers usually want to know who has access to their address, messages, genetic data, or images, and what they can do about it. They ask how the Constitution protects personal life, how government data sharing works, and where convenience and security meet privacy.
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October 9last updated
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Referenced by Brookings, CNN, Forbes, Fox News, Pew Research, Snopes, The Hill and USA Today.
The Webby-recognized AI behind our articles »
Latest in Privacy and Data Protection
Voting Systems and Equipment
Can Anyone Find Out Who You Voted For?
A public voter record can show that a person voted, but never who the person voted for. The record may also list the voter’s party and…
Privacy and Data Protection
How to Cut Most of Your Junk Mail (and What You Can’t Stop)
Free tools like OptOutPrescreen and DMAchoice can clear out most credit offers, catalogs, and coupons cluttering your mailbox each week.
Immigration Policy
Why the US Plans to Require Five Years of Social Media History from Visitors
The Department of Homeland Security has published a proposal that would fundamentally alter international travel to the United States. The proposal mandates the disclosure of five…
All Articles on Privacy and Data Protection
Who Can See Your New Address: Privacy Risks of the National Change of Address Database
When you file a change of address form with the U.S. Postal Service, you're entering personal information into a vast commercial database that extends…
Overturning Roe v. Wade Also Affected Digital Privacy
For nearly half a century, the Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade stood as a landmark of American law. It established that…
Facial Recognition Technology: How It Works, Where It’s Used, and What It Means for Privacy
Using your face as identification has become routine in modern American life. Millions of people unlock smartphones with a glance, creating seamless personal security…
Can DNA Testing Companies Sell Your Genetic Data?
DNA testing privacy depends on consent, company promises and federal and state rules, with different limits for research, business sales and police access.
Government Surveillance vs. Personal Privacy
The United States faces a tension between the government's duty to "provide for the common defense" and citizens' right "to be secure in their…
Digital Privacy and the Ninth Amendment: Does the Constitution Protect Your Online Life?
Every click, search query, and location ping from our smartphones creates a digital trail. Our most private conversations, financial records, health concerns, and daily…
Who Can Read Your DMs? Your Data, the Cloud, and Government Access
When you send a private message on a social media app, an email, or a workplace chat platform, there's a natural expectation of privacy.…
Ring Doorbells and Public Cameras: How Modern Surveillance Challenges the Fourth Amendment
In neighborhoods across the United States, a quiet transformation is underway. The familiar chime of a doorbell is now often accompanied by the soft…
How Should Palantir Be Regulated?
Palantir Technologies builds software it describes as "central operating systems" for government agencies. The private data analytics firm serves the Department of Defense, Department…
How the Census Bureau Protects Your Data
When you fill out a census form, you're sharing some of your most personal information with the government. Your age, race, income, and where…