DIGITAL CONTACT TRACING AND U.S. DATA PROTECTION LAW
This course will discuss how data privacy and security (together, data protection) law, applies to a public health authority’s use of digital contact tracing tools.
The course begins with a discussion of contact tracing, the role of technology in assisting with contact tracing, and potential privacy concerns.
The second section of the course details key federal privacy laws —the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the Communications Act, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, the Privacy Act, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act—and discusses what rights and obligations these laws may create for users, and providers of digital contact tracing tools.
Next, the course reviews selected state and foreign data protection laws, and their application to digital contact tracing.
The course concludes, by providing an overview of data protection bills introduced in Congress, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and discussing some legal considerations relating to such legislation.