Guides: Privacy & Information Law Research Guide: Secondary Sources (Texts, Treatises, Articles, and more)

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Introduction

Generally, we recommend you begin any legal research project with secondary sources. Here you will find a selective list of print and electronic treatises, books, study aids, and other secondary sources on privacy law.

If you are not familiar with what secondary sources are, or if you need to begin with a basic secondary source that can provide you with an introductory overview of your legal topic (such as a legal encyclopedia) you may want to begin with our Secondary Sources Research Guide or our Secondary Sources Tutorial.

Reference Works

Privacy Rights in the Digital Era (2015)
This encyclopaedia discusses various practical, political, psychological, and philosophical topics related to privacy rights.
Encyclopedia of Privacy (2006)
Provides a comprehensive overview of privacy in contemporary America. Included are some 225 alphabetically arranged entries written by more than 100 expert contributors. Entries cover such topics as the USA PATRIOT act, abortion rights, wiretapping, telemarketing, identity theft, DNA databases, Internet and email privacy, and numerous other concerns. Entries cite works for further reading, and the Encyclopedia closes with a bibliography of books, websites, organizations, and films.

Study Aids

Privacy Law in a Nutshell
Available in print and electronically via West Academic Study Aids.
Cybersecurity and Privacy Law in a Nutshell
Available in print and electronically via West Academic Study Aids.
A Short & Happy Guide to Privacy and Cybersecurity Law
Available electronically via West Academic Study Aids.
Right of Publicity in a Nutshell
Available in print and electronically via West Academic Study Aids.
Mass Communication Law in a Nutshell
Available in print and electronically via West Academic Study Aids. Includes a chapter on privacy and mass media.
Cybersecurity Law
A West Hornbook available in print and electronically via West Academic Study Aids. Includes a chapter on Family Education Rights and Privacy Act and other federal regulation concerning cybersecurity.
Global Internet Law
A West Hornbook available in print and electronically via West Academic Study Aids. Includes chapters on Internet-related privacy (including the EU Data Directive, General Data Protection Regulation, and the Right To Be Forgotten).
CALI Lesson: Basic Issues in the Right of Privacy
This lesson covers the basic elements of the four privacy torts: Commercial Appropriation, Intrusion, Public Disclosure, and False Light.
CALI Lesson: Constitutional Issues in the Right of Privacy
The Right of Privacy, much like defamation, raises serious Constitutional issues. Those issues arise, primarily, with the tort of Public Disclosure and False Light. This lesson discusses the details raised by that Constitutional problem.
CALI Lesson: Torts II- The Torts of Defamation, Invasion of Privacy and Torts against Business and Property
This is Part II of a 2 part series on intentional torts written for the undergraduate legal studies, business law, paralegal or pre-law student.

Select Treatises

The following is a select list of texts & treatises on issues of privacy law. There are many others; to find more, try searching the library's catalog (see below) or browsing a treatise collection.

Most of the below are available electronically; however, some are only available in our print collection.

Privacy Law Fundamentals (Bloomberg Law)
A good text to learn the basics or as a reference for privacy practitioners looking for quick, distilled, and current content.
Proskauer on Privacy : A Guide to Privacy and Data Security Law in the Information Age (2d ed.) (PLI)
Includes information about the history of information privacy law, as well as having chapters on financial privacy law, medical privacy, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforcement of privacy, state privacy laws, privacy of electronic communications, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), privacy and homeland security, workplace privacy law, privacy and commercial communications, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the Privacy Act of 1974 and its progeny, compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, insurance coverage for data breaches and unauthorized disclosures, and data breach litigation involving consumer class actions.
Rights of Publicity & Privacy (Westlaw)
Provides legal analysis and practitioner advice on publicity and privacy issues. Includes information on the history and development of the rights of publicity and privacy, policy rationales, elements of each right, who and what are protected by each, a survey of these rights in context, postmortem rights, infringement, assignments and licenses, procedure, remedies, and defenses.
Information Security and Privacy: A Guide to Federal and State Law and Compliance (Westlaw)
A comprehensive work covering internet and social media privacy, COPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act), the CDA (Communications Decency Act), unauthorized access to network and other computer crimes, privacy in electronic and wire communications (state and federal), employee privacy, FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act), Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM), spywhare and phishing, financial privacy (state and federal), identity theft, constitutional issues, health information, anonymous posting and subpoenas, and more. Also has forms.
E-Health, Privacy, and Security Law (Bloomberg Law)
A comprehensive treatise on privacy and health care.
Cybersecurity Litigation: Consumer Data Protection and Privacy (Bloomberg Law)
Includes an appendix on State Statutes.
Privacy in Employment Law (Bloomberg Law)
Includes: Part I. An Analysis of Privacy in the Employment Relationship; Part II. Statutory and Regulatory References; Part III. Comparative Law
Data Privacy, Protection, and Security Law (Lexis)
Covers legal liability issues regarding privacy including analysis of legal treatments with commentary. Includes coverage of data protection laws, selected e-commerce privacy issues, identity theft, personal data security, data security and wrongdoer’s liability, voluntary obligations to third parties, privacy law obligations imposed, and more.
Workplace Data: Law and Litigation (Bloomberg Law)
Includes: Part I. Workplace Data; Part II. E-Discovery Challenges; Part III. Data Retention Statutes; Part IV. Emerging Issues Related to Workplace Data; Part V. International Workplace Data Issues
Law of the Internet (CCH)
Chapter 3 deals with Privacy and Chapter 4 with Computer Security.
Computer and Information Law Digest (Westlaw)
Contains digests of decisions on all aspects of computer and technology issues. Browse to "Part III. Information Age Issues" to find "Chapter 12. Access to Information, Data Disclosure, and Privacy."
Computer Law: A Guide to Cyberlaw and Data Privacy Law (Lexis)
Includes coverage of U.S. Federal Privacy and Data Protection Law (Part IV), U.S. State Privacy and Data Protection Law (Part V), International Privacy and Data Protection Law (Part VI), and specific privacy issues (Part VII).
Privacy Law and the PATRIOT Act (Lexis)
A treatise focused on modern federal surveillance law, with chapters including: President’s Powers Regarding Property and Persons (Terrorism Designations and Watch Lists); Federal Government Surveillance Powers; Financial Privacy and the Patriot Act (Money Laundering and Reporting by Financial Institutions); National Security Letters, DNA Sampling, and Other Investigatory Tools; Post-9/11 Terrorism Crimes and their Impacts on Privacy; Sharing Law Enforcement and Intelligence Information Among Government Agencies; Government Data Mining and Surveillance Systems; and more.
Getting the Deal Through: Data Protection and Privacy (Lexis)
Covers many of the most important data protection and data privacy laws in force or in preparation throughout the globe.

Practice Materials

Many of the resources listed on this page have a practical bent or include both practical and scholarly content, so refer also to the list of treatises and other books on this page. The below in particular contain resources that are focused mainly on practical guidance for attorneys (deskbooks, practice notes, chart builders, forms, checklists, CLE materials, etc.):

Practice Advisor: Intellectual Property & Technology (Lexis)
Under "Tasks" select "Privacy & Data Security," then narrow using the tools on the left or search in the top bar.
Thomson Reuters Practical Law: Intellectual Property & Technology: Privacy & Data Security
Narrow using the options on the left, or search using the top bar.
Bloomberg BNA Privacy & Data Security Law Practice Center
An excellent resource for those researching privacy law. Includes the "Privacy Law Watch" and the "Privacy & Security Law Report" as well as chart builders, a variety of electronic treatises, and practice portfolios on a number of privacy and data security topics. Contains information on data security & breach notification, online and consumer privacy, financial data, health data, and workplace privacy & security.

e-Resource Centers and Treatise Collections

Bloomberg BNA Privacy & Data Security Law Practice Center
An excellent resource for those researching privacy law. Includes the "Privacy Law Watch" and the "Privacy & Security Law Report" as well as chart builders, a variety of electronic treatises, and practice portfolios on a number of privacy and data security topics. Contains information on data security & breach notification, online and consumer privacy, financial data, health data, and workplace privacy & security.
Bloomberg Law: Privacy Books & Treatises
A collection of Privacy Law treatises available on Bloomberg Law.
Privacy Law Texts & Treatises (Westlaw)
Also see the treatises listed under "Technology" in Westlaw's Intellectual Property Texts & Treatises collection, or Westlaw's Health Law Texts & Treatises or Data Privacy Texts & Treatises.
Lexis Treatises
While Lexis does not have a delineated category for privacy law, you can search its treatise collection here.
PLI Discover Plus: Privacy & Cybersecurity Treatises

Select Books in Our Collection

The following are examples of some of the books in the law library's catalog having to do with privacy law or special topics within privacy law.

Understanding Privacy (2008), by Daniel Solove
From the Publisher: "Offers a comprehensive overview of the difficulties involved in discussions of privacy and ultimately provides a provocative resolution. [Solove] argues that no single definition can be workable, but rather that there are multiple forms of privacy, related to one another by family resemblances. His theory bridges cultural differences and addresses historical changes in views on privacy. Drawing on a broad array of interdisciplinary sources, Solove sets forth a framework for understanding privacy that provides clear, practical guidance for engaging with relevant issues."
Nothing to Hide : The False Tradeoff between Privacy and Security (e-book; 2011), by Daniel Solove
From the Publisher: "In this concise and accessible book, Solove exposes the fallacies of many pro-security arguments that have skewed law and policy to favor security at the expense of privacy. Protecting privacy isn't fatal to security measures; it merely involves adequate oversight and regulation. Solove traces the history of the privacy-security debate from the Revolution to the present day. He explains how the law protects privacy and examines concerns with new technologies. He then points out the failings of our current system and offers specific remedies. Nothing to Hide makes a powerful and compelling case for reaching a better balance between privacy and security and reveals why doing so is essential to protect our freedom and democracy."
The Cambridge Handbook of Surveillance Law (2017)
This handbook brings together a number of essays on contemporary surveillance issues, policies, and practices. Its pages explore surveillance techniques and technologies; their value for law enforcement, national security, and private enterprise; their impacts on citizens and communities; and the many ways societies do - and should - regulate surveillance.
Federal Trade Commission Privacy Law and Policy (2016), by Chris Hoofnagle
From the Publisher: "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"
The Future of Foreign Intelligence: Privacy and Surveillance in a Digital Age (2016), by Laura Donohue
From the Publisher: "Donohue traces the evolution of U.S. foreign intelligence law and pairs it with the progress of Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. She argues that the bulk collection programs instituted by the National Security Agency amount to a general warrant, the prevention of which was the reason the Founders introduced the Fourth Amendment. The expansion of foreign intelligence surveillanceleant momentum by advances in technology, the Global War on Terror, and the emphasis on securing the homeland now threatens to consume protections essential to privacy, which is a necessary component of a healthy democracy. Donohue offers a road map for reining in the national security state's expansive reach, arguing for a judicial re-evaluation of third party doctrine and statutory reform that will force the executive branch to take privacy seriously, even as Congress provides for the collection of intelligence central to U.S. national security."
Laws of Image: Privacy and Publicity in America (2015), by Samantha Barbas
From the Publisher: "[T]ells the story of how Americans came to use the law to protect and manage their images, feelings, and reputations. In this social, cultural, and legal history, Samantha Barbas ties the development of personal image law to the self-consciousness and image-consciousness that has become endemic in our media-saturated culture of celebrity and consumerism, where people see their identities as intertwined with their public images. The laws of image are the expression of a people who have become so publicity-conscious and self-focused that they believe they have a right to control their images―to manage and spin them like actors, politicians, and rock stars."
Privacy in the Digital Age: 21st-Century Challenges to the Fourth Amendment (2015)
A collection of expert essays examining the privacy rights that have been lost in the post-9/11 era.
The Dual System of Privacy Rights in the United States (2013)
From the Publisher: "Mary McThomas provides a new model that helps us to think about both the right to privacy as well as constitutional development. She first divides privacy issues into two categories, and then illustrates how the two categories are treated differently. The first category, proprietary privacy, covers such issues as medical records and wiretapping. The second category, decisional privacy, involves making decisions about intimate matters such as the right to die, same-sex marriage, and abortion. McThomas tracks and assesses higher court cases in conversational privacy, representative of proprietary privacy, and court cases in marital privacy, representative of decisional privacy. She concludes that the most notable difference between the different types of privacy is that decisional privacy has evolved more slowly towards constitutionalization, and so is much more likely to be limited by community standards and social norms. This book brings the theoretical conceptions and the practice of privacy rights together, explaining what has happened in the area up until this point, and offering ways to predict how the courts will handle some of today’s most contentious issues."
Configuring the Networked Self: Law, Code, and the Play of Everyday Practice (e-book; 2012), by Julie E. Cohen
The legal and technical rules governing flows of information are out of balance, argues Julie E. Cohen in this original analysis of information law and policy. Flows of cultural and technical information are overly restricted, while flows of personal information often are not restricted at all. The author investigates the institutional forces shaping the emerging information society and the contradictions between those forces and the ways that people use information and information technologies in their everyday lives. She then proposes legal principles to ensure that people have ample room for cultural and material participation as well as greater control over the boundary conditions that govern flows of information to, from, and about them. We also have this book in our print collection.
Privacy, Big Data, and the Public Good (2014)
A collection of essays that includes legal, economic, and statistical perspectives on privacy and big data issues.
Information Security and Privacy: A Practical Guide for Global Executives, Lawyers and Technologists (2011)
Includes chapters on information security and privacy laws and regulations, information security and privacy liability, information risk management, information security and privacy best practices, and more. Published by the ABA.
Privacy Rights: Cases Lost and Causes Won Before the Supreme Court (2006), by Alice Fleetwood Bartee
From the Publisher: "A unique and timely study of the judicial process as it confronts four privacy issues: birth control, gay rights, abortion, and the right to die. The moral questions surrounding these subjects create intense and enduring debates about the scope and limits of the right to privacy. In four historic cases, the Supreme Court struck down the right to privacy. In four later cases, these rulings were overturned. Why? This book explains the original failure by analyzing attorneys mistakes, miscommunication in the judicial conference, attitudes and policy predilections of the justices, and the negative attitudes of state officials and interest groups. The ultimate win for privacy rights is an exciting story involving well known cases like Lawrence v. Texas, Planned Parenthood V. Casey, Griswold V. Connecticut, and that of Terri Schiavo. Through the personal and legal details of these dramatic stories, the debate on privacy rights comes alive."

To find more books or other materials on privacy law in the law library's collection, search our catalog by subject for subject headings such as:

Privacy, Right of -- United States
Data protection -- Law and legislation -- United States
Confidential communications -- United States
Publicity (Law) -- United States
Electronic Surveillance
Computer security -- Law and legislation

Current Awareness Resources

These resources are great for keeping up-to-date on developments in the law, in addition to providing fertile ground for selecting research paper topics.

Bloomberg BNA Privacy Law Watch
Bloomberg BNA Privacy & Security Law Report
Bloomberg BNA World Data Protection Report
Pratt's Privacy and Cybersecurity Law Report (Lexis)
A monthly newsletter containing analysis and commentary from privacy and cybersecurity law practitioners on developments occurring in the full range of national and international privacy and cybersecurity law areas.

Journal Articles

Lexis and Westlaw's law journal databases are the most popular places to search for relevant law journal articles. Searching Lexis and Westlaw's databases, however, is not necessarily the most efficient way of finding relevant journal articles, nor is it comprehensive. The Articles for Legal and Non-Legal Research research guide explains the differences between searching journal indexes and searching full-text databases. It also suggests legal and non-legal indexes and full-text databases.

There are several law reviews and journals dedicated to privacy law; however, note that scholarly articles on this area of law may appear in numerous publications, including those that are general in nature; you should not limit your research only to privacy-specific journals.

Data Privacy Law Reviews & Journals (Westlaw)
All Law Reviews & Journals (Westlaw)
All Law Reviews & Journals (Lexis)
Privacy Law Research Guide: Journal Articles on Privacy (FSU Law)
A list of select journal articles on privacy law. The links are FSU-specific, so try our catalog to find these articles in Georgetown databases (or ask a librarian for help).

Privacy & Information Law Research Guide

Contents