7 - Privacy as Corporate Accountability

Summary

Chapter 7 proposes how the liability framework should be implemented. Harm liability can flow from a statutory standard or local tort law. This focus allows liability to complement, rather than replicate, public enforcement. The quantum of liability should depend on the harm incurred by the victim, rather than on the wrongfulness of the perpetrator’s conduct or the consequences that the perpetrator foresaw. Privacy liability is most effective as part of a mechanism of collective redress, such as class actions. A robust notion of loss and harm can address problems of insufficient compensation and uncertainties in class certification. Considering privacy problems at scale, we need a framework recognizing mass privacy effects for regulators and courts.