PPI Report: Why is digital privacy so complicated?

The exact definition of digital privacy is complex, imperfectly aligned with typical understandings of privacy in an analog context. Historically, the vast majority of human actions and interactions existed beyond the scope of surveillance. Today, it’s nearly impossible to go about our daily lives without digital tools that facilitate modern life, but also collect data about individuals. When this growing flood of data is linked to an individual it is called “personal identifying information” (PII), the centerpiece of the debate over digital privacy.

The discussion of digital privacy is complicated precisely because it operates on three distinct but interrelated levels. First, privacy’s social and legal dimensions depend on whether individuals, corporations, or governments are assumed to hold primary rights to personal data collected about those individuals. In Europe, for example, the individual holds primary rights over their data, while in China, the state takes precedence.

The second level of the privacy discussion addresses data use and the technical protection and security of personal information to safeguard it from unwanted intrusion or theft while allowing individuals transparent access to their data. These complicated technical issues arise no matter privacy’s social and legal structure.

The third level of the privacy debate deals with the economics of PII. How does the chosen privacy model interact with innovation and growth? And how can it be assured that individuals get the appropriate benefits from their data?

This paper will lay out the privacy models of the United States, Europe, and China, with smaller sections on the United Kingdom, Canada, and India. For each area, we will discuss the social and legal structure, the technical design of security and transparency, and the economic implications of privacy and innovation. This paper sets out a framework for PPI’s ongoing privacy work. It lays the groundwork for future discussions of privacy legislation in the United States.