Privacy is a rapidly evolving, dynamic area of law in our increasingly technology-driven world. Privacy law in the United States is often described as a "patchwork," as its sources derive from the common law, state and federal constitutions, and state and federal statutes that are supplemented by regulations and administrative enforcement actions aimed at specific areas of concern. In addition, foreign jurisdictions--notably, the EU--have enacted their own sometimes stricter and more comprehensive privacy laws with which those doing business internationally must comply.
This guide was designed to provide legal research assistance to those conducting research in areas of privacy law. It contains references to a collection of primary law and secondary sources available through the UNC Law Library that focus on a variety of privacy law issues. Many of the sources cited in this guide are freely available to anyone online. Others require UNC or UNC Law affiliation, sometimes in combination with a separate username and password for access to databases such as Westlaw, Lexis+, and Bloomberg Law. If you are a UNC Law faculty, student, or staff member and do not have access to these databases, please contact the UNC Law Library Reference Desk at 919-962-1194 or lawref@unc.edu.
