Friday, February 5, 2016

Hoofnagle on the Federal Trade Commission and the Development of Privacy Law

Just out from Cambridge University Press: Federal Trade Commission Privacy Law and Policy, by Christopher Jay Hoofnagle (University of California, Berkeley). A description from the Press:
The Federal Trade Commission, a US agency created in 1914 to police the problem of 'bigness', has evolved into the most important regulator of information privacy - and thus innovation policy - in the world. Its policies profoundly affect business practices and serve to regulate most of the consumer economy. In short, it now regulates our technological future. Despite its stature, however, the agency is often poorly understood by observers and even those who practice before it. This volume by Chris Jay Hoofnagle - an internationally recognized scholar with more than fifteen years of experience interacting with the FTC - is designed to redress this confusion by explaining how the FTC arrived at its current position of power. It will be essential reading for lawyers, legal academics, political scientists, historians and anyone else interested in understanding the FTC's privacy activities and how they fit in the context of the agency's broader consumer protection mission.
A few blurbs:
"Chris Hoofnagle has written the definitive book about the FTC's involvement in privacy and security. This is a deep, thorough, erudite, clear, and insightful work - one of the very best books on privacy and security." -- Daniel J. Solove

"A timely and insightful analysis of the FTC as a key actor in protecting information privacy. The historical context provides a solid basis for Hoofnagle's well-supported policy recommendations."  -- Priscilla M. Regan
More information is available here.

Update: The introduction appears here as an SSRN post.