UC Berkeley

The United States features a dual system of federal and state sectoral law. In the absence of an omnibus privacy statute, the key question is how these laws interact with each other. When Congress enacts privacy law, it generally allows the states space for further action. The federal lawmaker typically does so through laws that set only a floor, that is, a minimum of safeguards, but that allow the states to exceed their privacy protections. This model has involved a wide range of institutional actors in the regulationof privacy. State legislatures and courts interpret state laws. Congress acts to preempt state law in enacting sectoral legislation, as needed, and federal judges interpret state legislation, including subsequent amendments to existing state law or new laws, to decide if they conflict with federal law.