More on Privacy Contracts
Law Prof Dan Solove took the A-Rod question I posted, and blogged much more in depth in A-Rod, Rihanna, and Confidentiality:
Shostack suggests that A-Rod might have an action for breach of contract. He might also have an action for the breach of confidentiality tort. Professor Neil Richards and I have written extensively about breach of confidentiality. The tort is recognized in most states, and it provides for liability whenever one owes a duty of confidentiality and breaches that duty. We observed, however, that the tort has remained “relatively obscure and frequently overlooked” in American law. In contrast, in England, the tort is robust and applies quite broadly. We suggested in our article that the American tort could develop more along the lines of the English tort, and it is, in fact, already beginning to head in that direction. See Neil M. Richards & Daniel J. Solove, Privacy’s Other Path: Recovering the Law of Confidentiality, 96 Geo. L.J. 123 (2007).
Lots more very interesting analysis. Check it out!
This post to me shows that there are some very good things in tort law especially when compared to the counter option of increased regulation. Regulations lose their effectiveness and often become counter-productive. At the same time, it is tough to study the tort system because there is no data. In almost all the case, as I understand it, the settlements are collared beforehand, settings a range of payments based on the outcome. I suspect that lack of sunlight would also bother the folks here at EC.