The governance of privacy: policy instruments in global perspective

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Privacy protection encompasses politics and public policy, alongside law and technology, as highlighted by Colin Bennett and Charles Raab. In a globalized world, privacy-related policies are interdependent. This updated paperback edition analyzes various privacy policy instruments available to advanced industrial states, including government regulations, transnational regimes, self-regulation, and privacy-enhancing technologies. The authors explore two dynamics of privacy regulation: a "race to the bottom," where countries competitively deregulate to attract investment, versus a "race to the top," promoting the establishment of global privacy standards. Bennett and Raab discuss the goals of privacy protection, the liberal and individualist assumptions underlying it, and the often-overlooked connection between privacy and social equity. They evaluate different policy instruments, such as the 1995 Directive on Data Protection from the European Union, and assess the effectiveness of both the "top-down" statutory approach and self-regulatory alternatives. The authors analyze the interrelationships of these instruments within a global regulatory framework involving state and non-state actors. Ultimately, they question whether the proliferation of policy activity at international, national, and corporate levels translates to improved privacy protection.