From Collection to use in Privacy Regulation? a Forward- Looking Comparison of European and us Frameworks for Personal Data Processing

How are we to ensure respect for information privacy in the 21st century? Answering this question, some have put forward the argument that regulation should focus on the use of data instead of its initial collection (Mundie 2014; White House 2014a; White House 2014b; Cate et al. 2014; Landau 2015; World Economic Forum 2013). The main argument for this shift tends to be pragmatic, namely that the collection of personal data has become the normal state of affairs. As a result, focusing the regulation of personal data-driven processes by limiting the collection of data (data minimization) is no longer feasible and desirable. Regulation should focus on issues arising from the actual use of personal data instead.