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Revisiting the governance of privacy: Contemporary policy instruments in global perspective

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  • Colin J. Bennett
  • Charles D. Raab

Abstract

The repertoire of policy instruments within a particular policy sector varies by jurisdiction; some “tools of government” are associated with particular administrative and regulatory traditions and political cultures. It is less clear how the instruments associated with a particular policy sector may change over time, as economic, social, and technological conditions evolve. In the early 2000s, we surveyed and analyzed the global repertoire of policy instruments deployed to protect personal data. In this article, we explore how those instruments have changed as a result of 15 years of social, economic and technological transformations, during which the issue has assumed a far higher global profile, as one of the central policy questions associated with modern networked communications. We review the contemporary range of transnational, regulatory, self‐regulatory, and technical instruments according to the same framework, and conclude that the types of policy instrument have remained relatively stable, even though they are now deployed on a global scale. While the labels remain the same, however, the conceptual foundations for their legitimation and justification are shifting as greater emphases on accountability, risk, ethics, and the social/political value of privacy have gained purchase. Our analysis demonstrates both continuity and change within the governance of privacy, and displays how we would have tackled the same research project today. As a broader case study of regulation, it highlights the importance of going beyond technical and instrumental labels. Change or stability of policy instruments does not take place in isolation from the wider conceptualizations that shape their meaning, purpose, and effect.

Suggested Citation

  • Colin J. Bennett & Charles D. Raab, 2020. "Revisiting the governance of privacy: Contemporary policy instruments in global perspective," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(3), pages 447-464, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:reggov:v:14:y:2020:i:3:p:447-464
    DOI: 10.1111/rego.12222
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Black, Julia, 2008. "Forms and paradoxes of principles-based regulation," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 23103, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Linder, Stephen H. & Peters, B. Guy, 1989. "Instruments of Government: Perceptions and Contexts," Journal of Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(1), pages 35-58, January.
    3. Colin J. Bennett, 2012. "The Accountability Approach to Privacy and Data Protection: Assumptions and Caveats," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Daniel Guagnin & Leon Hempel & Carla Ilten & Inga Kroener & Daniel Neyland & Hector Postigo (ed.), Managing Privacy through Accountability, chapter 2, pages 33-48, Palgrave Macmillan.
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