Preface

• Author: Karen Eltis
• Pages: 11-13

xi

Preface

A. RECENT AND IMMINENT NORMATIVE CHANGE IN THE

PRIVACY SPHERESINCE 2012

To speak of Internet law (or cyber law) generally, and privacy law more

particula rly, is to speak of a changing normative landscape, sh iing under

our feet .

While still in its relative infancy, privacy law, or “Internet law” more

broadly, has been steadily and rapidly developing since the rst edition’s

publication in 2012. Where there was little denitive judicial resolution —

or even discussion — of issues such as the recognition of (oen intangible)

privacy harm, freedom of digital speech (let alone computer code as speech),

or the question of litigant anonymity when the rst edition of this book

was published, much has changed since, perhaps mirroring heightened

social sensitivity to privac y breaches.

Whereas less than four years ago one was at pains to nd examples of

courts acknowledging losses a rising from privacy breaches, the environment

in the United States, and even more so in Canada, has changed dramatic-

ally. In the words of one commentator, “litigation and individual actions

relating to privacy breaches in Canada are no longer just hypothetical,

they are a new reality. e actions tend to involve disclosure of personal

information through insecure disposal of records, the and loss of un-

encrypted data on mobile devices, and unauthorized access to records.”1

is sentiment is equally true i n the United States, as we breathlessly await

1 See more, onli ne: http://greyswanadvisor y.com/uncategorized/l itigation-and-

losses-mount-over-canadian-privacy-breaches/#sthash.nUOE9h6B.dpuf.