This focused survey course examines U.S. privacy laws in several significant contexts, including (1) telecommunications and marketing, (2) workplace and employment, and (3) civil litigation and governmental law enforcement investigations. The course will explore how commercial marketing activities that involve telemarketing and email are regulated, and we'll examine laws such as the CAN-SPAM Act, the CCPA, and the VPPA to understand how they are intended to protect consumers. We will examine the privacy concerns that affect employees in the workplace, both private and public, and identify those areas that are important for prospective employers and employees alike to be aware of in today's work environment. Where civil litigation and government investigations affect specific privacy concerns for individuals, the course will examine to what degree disclosures and discovery are allowable in the civil litigation context, and will review the roles of privacy professionals in the realms of law enforcement and national security. Lastly, the course addresses emerging issues in the topics covered throughout the class, and will consider insight and reflections from industry practitioners to equip students with actionable, relevant, and timely concepts by which to evaluate current or future privacy policies.
