The evolution of privacy regulation : convergence and divergence in the transatlantic space

Beaumier, Guillaume (2020). The evolution of privacy regulation : convergence and divergence in the transatlantic space. Thèse. University of Warwick and Université Laval, 277 p.

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Résumé

This thesis explores the evolution of privacy regulations in the transatlantic space since the adoption of the European Data Directive in 1995 up until the adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation in 2016. In doing so, it more specifically investigates how the rules governing the use of personal data by private companies in the United States and the European Union were formed through the interactions between public and private actors in both jurisdictions. Looking at the process of rule formation, previous works have traditionally viewed national regulatory systems as discrete units of analysis that could affect one another and yet always remained fundamentally distinct. The starting point of this thesis is different. It considers that each jurisdiction’s regulatory process is continuously shaped by decisions taken in the other and that through their interactions they actually form a complex governance system that evolves based on two joint processes: exploitation and exploration. The former emphasizes that privacy regulators will generally tend to exploit the data protection rules of those with whom they previously had direct interactions. Meanwhile, the latter highlights that when preexisting rules prove to be insufficient, privacy regulators will explore new ones based on the very same interactions and relation to the broader system. The formation of data protection rules is thus always understood in relational or systemic terms, rather than an individual process. Based on a mix of content and network analysis, I further demonstrate that by exploiting preexisting rules private actors offered a new institutional avenue for public rules to cross national frontiers and promote greater regulatory convergence. At the same time, the multiplication of privacy regulations and data protection rules adopted by private actors created second-order information asymmetries, which in turn limited their interest in exploring new ideas and experimenting with new data protection rules. In addition to contributing to the literature on privacy and introducing a novel database on data protection rules adopted over the last 20 years in the transatlantic area, this thesis highlights how growing economic interdependence upends national regulatory processes and brings into question many of the assumed boundaries in the study of international political economy.

Type de document:	Thèse (Thèse)
Collaborateurs:	Contribution Contributeur Institution Direction de recherche Watson, Matthew University of Warwick co-direction de recherche Morin, Jean-Frédéric Université Laval
Notes publiques:	Thesis submitted to the University of Warwick and Université Laval for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Politics and International Studies (Warwick) & Science politique (Laval). Comprend des références bibliographiques (pages 217-247). Comprend un résumé en anglais.
Mots-clés:	DOCTORAT; THESE; Thèses et écrits académiques
Déposé par:	Julie Hardy
Date de dépôt:	09 févr. 2024 20:09
Dernière modification:	09 févr. 2024 20:09
URI:	https://espace.enap.ca/id/eprint/483

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