Information privacy is rapidly emerging as one of the key areas of consumer protection in our era. This conference will examine the role of contract in policing information privacy. Are private contracts an efficient regulatory tool of data privacy? Should the law incorporate mandatory protections, not waivable by consumers? Can disclosures effectively inform consumers about firms’ data practices?

The conference is organized by Omri Ben-Shahar and Lior Strahilevitz and sponsored by the Coase-Sandor Institute for Law and Economics

Friday, October 16, 2015

Session 1: Kristen Anderson, Federal Trade Commission, Moderator
9:30 – 10:15:       Florencia Marrota-Wurgler, New York University, Understanding Privacy Policies: Self-Regulation, Market Forces, and Enforcement Actions

10: 15 – 11:00:      Alessandro Acquisti, Rainer Böhme, Sarah Spiekermann, and Kai-Lung Hui Carnegie Mellon University, How Feasible Are Markets for Personal Data?

Session 2: Susanne Augenhofer, Humboldt University in Berlin, Moderator
11: 15 – 12: 00:      Paul Schwartz, U.C. Berkeley, Comparative Contractual Privacy Law: The U.S., Germany, and E.U.

Session 3: Aaron Burstein, Federal Trade Commission, Moderator
1:30 – 2:15:      Omri Ben-Shahar and Adam Chilton, University of Chicago, An Experimental Test of How the Formal Properties of Privacy Disclosures Influence Behavior

2:15 – 3:00:      Lior Strahilevitz, University of Chicago & Matthew Kugler, U.S. Court of Appeals – 7th Circuit, Is Privacy Policy Language Irrelevant to Consumers?

Session 4: Randy Picker, University of Chicago, Moderator
3:15 – 4:00:      Kirsten Martin, George Washington University, Explicit Versus Implicit Privacy Contracts: Comparing the Impact of Privacy Notices and Norms on Consumer Trust

4:00 – 4:45:      Ian Ayres, Yale University, A Laffer Curve for Invasions of Privacy

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Session 5: Ariel Feldman, University of Chicago, Moderator
9:30 – 10:15:       Joel Reidenberg, Fordham University, Jaspreet Bhatia, Carnegie Mellon University, et al., Automated Measurement and Comparison of Privacy Policy Ambiguity

10: 15 – 11:00:      Richard Brooks, Columbia University, The Information Fiduciary: Beyond Contracting over Privacy

 Session 6: Sebastien Gay, University of Chicago, Moderator
11: 15 – 12: 00:      Oren Bar-Gill, Harvard University, & Omri Ben-Shahar, University of Chicago, Optimal Defaults for Consumer Contracts

This event is free and open to the public, but seating may be limited.

Conference PosterIan Ayres - Contracting for Privacy Precaution (in the Shadow of State Efforts)Oren Bar-Gill & Omri Ben-Shahar - Optimal Defaults in Consumer MarketsOmri Ben-Shahar & Adam Chilton - “Best Practices” in the Design of Privacy Disclosures: An Experimental TestKirsten Martin - Formal versus Informal Privacy Contracts: Comparing the impact of privacy notices...Reidenberg, Bhatia, Breaux, & Norton - Comparing Ambiguity in Privacy Policies and the Impact of RegulationLior Jacob Strahilevitz & Matthew B. Kugler - Is Privacy Policy Language Irrelevant to Consumers?Richard R. W. Brooks - Observability & Verifiability: Informing the Information FiduciaryPaul Schwartz - Comparative Contractual Privacy Law: The U.S. and EUFlorencia Marotta-Wurgler - Understanding Privacy Policies: Content, Self-Regulation, and Market Forces