Privacy has been ill-fated in US law. Since this legal concept surfaced at the end of the nineteenth century as the ‘right to be let alone’, expectations of its success have been betrayed. This result is the product of several related factors, two of which are particularly worthy of attention: a) the traditional pigeon-hole approach affecting the structure of tort liability adjudication which resulted in the crystallization of privacy torts; b) a utilitarian and instrumentalist understanding of tort law’s functions and goals, widely shared by scholars since the second decade of the twentieth century, and still hegemonic. At present some scholars are invoking a return to the ancient conceptual roots of US tort law, conceived of as a means of vengeance and satisfaction for aggrieved individuals. Might this approach bring back the grand idea of privacy as a major right, able to afford a robust protection to personality interests?
A Brilliant Future behind its back: the Irresolute Advance of Privacy in the realm of US tort law
BIAGIO ANDO'
2024-01-01
Abstract
Privacy has been ill-fated in US law. Since this legal concept surfaced at the end of the nineteenth century as the ‘right to be let alone’, expectations of its success have been betrayed. This result is the product of several related factors, two of which are particularly worthy of attention: a) the traditional pigeon-hole approach affecting the structure of tort liability adjudication which resulted in the crystallization of privacy torts; b) a utilitarian and instrumentalist understanding of tort law’s functions and goals, widely shared by scholars since the second decade of the twentieth century, and still hegemonic. At present some scholars are invoking a return to the ancient conceptual roots of US tort law, conceived of as a means of vengeance and satisfaction for aggrieved individuals. Might this approach bring back the grand idea of privacy as a major right, able to afford a robust protection to personality interests?I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
