by Daniel J. Solove
Professor Neil M. Richards (Washington University School of Law) has posted a draft chapter of his forthcoming book about privacy law and free speech. It is a fascinating piece — very accessible and engaging. It’s called Why Data Privacy Law is (Mostly) Constitutional.
Eyebrows were raised a few years ago when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a privacy statute in Sorrell v. IMS Health, Inc., 131 S.Ct. 2653 (2011). A Vermont statue restricted pharmacies from disclosing personal data for marketing purposes and barred pharmaceutical companies from using personal data for marketing without people’s consent. The Supreme Court held that the statute violated the First Amendment because it singled out particular content and particular speakers.
Does this mean that most privacy laws have a problem with the First Amendment right to free speech? After all, privacy laws mandate restrictions on uses and disclosures of personal data.