Implementing Personalized Law: Personalized Disclosures in Consumer Law and Data Privacy Law

Abstract

This Essay explores how the rise of big data and algorithm-based regulation could fundamentally change the design and structure of disclosure mandates in consumer law and privacy law. Impersonal information duties and standardized notices could be replaced by granular legal norms that provide personalized disclosures based on the personal preferences and informational needs of an individual. This Essay makes several contributions to the emerging debate about personalized law. First, it shows how information technology can be implemented for tailoring disclosures in consumer law and privacy law in order to take into account actor heterogeneity. Second, it argues that personalized disclosures should be conceived as a learning system based on feedback mechanisms in order to continuously improve the relevance of the information provided. Third, this Essay explores the ramifications of personalization for compliance monitoring and enforcement. Finally, this Essay claims that, with the advent of the Internet of Things, the wave of the future, at least in data privacy law, could be a mix of personalized defaults implemented through virtual personal assistants and only occasional active choices.