By Sarah Kellogg
The rise of new technologies has ushered in an era of unprecedented connectivity, productivity, and convenience. Yet, as innovations such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and blockchain reshape sectors, they also introduce significant challenges to privacy and civil liberties.
Staying well informed about privacy law is no longer optional for legal professionals—it’s a necessity. Those who fail to adapt risk not only legal repercussions but also the erosion of public trust, a quality more valuable than ever in the digital age. The legal profession—and law schools—must rise to the occasion, embracing the challenges and opportunities that come with protecting privacy in a tech-driven world.
“I think law students in today’s age realize this is the future, and this is where the legal issues are going to keep coming up,” said Daniel J. Solove, the Eugene L. and Barbara A. Bernard Professor of Intellectual Property and Technology Law. “Every company is a data company. Every industry is touched by this.”
The GW Center for Law and Technology (GWCLT) has taken on the challenge, committing to train lawyers who can both harness these technologies and safeguard privacy and civil rights. GWCLT stands as a nexus for thought leadership, fostering interdisciplinary scholarship, advancing the global privacy dialogue, and bridging the gap between academia and practice.
“As digital technologies like AI and large language models (LLMs) continue to evolve, the potential for privacy breaches grows exponentially,” said Dean Dayna Bowen Matthew, the Harold H. Greene Professor of Law. “By offering a broad understanding of privacy law, the Center for Law and Technology equips our students with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate this increasingly complex legal landscape.”
GWCLT, as a hub for cutting-edge research and thought leadership, offers students the opportunity to explore the tensions and legal intricacies of intellectual property, cybersecurity, and digital privacy. The center features a dynamic blend of academic rigor and real-world experience, and prepares students to tackle the challenges of a tech-driven future.
The Sweeping Power of Technology
The advent of advanced technologies capable of mining vast amounts of information, tracking online activities and behaviors, reading faces and emotions, and even predicting future actions has happened steadily over the last two decades. Only in recent years, as the breadth of their disruptive powers have been appreciated, have these innovations raised profound concerns in Washington and more widely in society.
As these technologies are integrated even more so into everyday life, it has become clear they can reshape lives and companies. They promise efficiency and productivity, improved quality of life and better health outcomes, solutions to complex problems that were previously insurmountable, and access to an increasingly interconnected and fast-moving world.
“I think law students in today’s age realize this is the future, and this is where the legal issues are going to keep coming up.”
Daniel Solove
Eugene L. and Barbara A. Bernard Professor of Intellectual Property and Technology Law; Faculty Co-Director, GW Center for Law & Technology
Even more importantly, the technology holds great promise: AI and LLM systems are turbocharging nearly every industry they touch—biometric data collection such as fingerprint scanning and iris recognition is strengthening security; affective computing and emotion detection is informing customer interactions; blockchain is guaranteeing greater financial transparency; personalized medicine is innovating biomedical research and health care; deepfake technology is stimulating creativity; and the Internet of Things (IoT) is personalizing the sweeping power of technology.
As much as society has come to rely on these innovations, it now grapples with the potential for unauthorized access to organizational systems and personal details, data hacking, and the exploitation of sensitive information, such as trade secrets for companies and location data, health metrics, and preferences for individuals.
“People are coming to the realization that every major interesting problem in the law is a problem about technology as well,” said Mary Anne Franks, the Eugene L. and Barbara A. Bernard Professor in Intellectual Property, Technology, and Civil Rights Law. “I think some problems are so big, and are going to affect all of us so existentially, that we have to understand technology as being a significant factor in all our lives, and we need to prepare lawyers for this future.”
No one feels this delicate balance more acutely today than corporations, many of which have invented these technologies and are also searching for ways to counteract their negative consequences. This requires a deep understanding of the technologies in play, and how they interact with legal frameworks. Law firms and corporate counsels are now expected to work closely with IT departments, ensuring that privacy is even embedded in design.
“Corporations really need to be aware of the threats from new technologies. It’s not just about health care, health care providers, and health plans anymore,” said Deborah L. Gersh, JD ’83, co-chair of Ropes & Gray’s health care practice and co-leader of the firm’s Health Care and Life Sciences Industry Group.
“Any company in America that has technology or data that somebody wants is in danger. Despite having security, many corporations outside of the health care and life sciences industries have not had the runway that health care companies have had due to the laser focus on health care and privacy beginning principally with HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996],” she said.
Navigating the Growing Legal Response
In this evolving legal landscape, law firms and corporate general counsels find themselves at the forefront of a legal battleground where defending privacy has become paramount. As governments enact stringent new laws and regulations to protect privacy, law schools are called upon to supply lawyers with a depth of knowledge and skills to navigate this legal environment.
Today, some 160 countries around the world have privacy laws regulating everything from data privacy to social media interactions to health privacy. The most prominent of these laws is the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) law, enacted in 2016, and its recently adopted brother, the EU AI Act. The combination of the two laws provides fundamental protections for the processing of individual data, and sets strict governance and transparency guardrails on the use of AI.
“People are coming to the realization that every major interesting problem in the law is a problem about technology as well.”
Mary Anne Franks
Eugene L. and Barbara A. Bernard Professor in Intellectual Property, Technology, and Civil Rights Law
In the United States, more than 20 states have passed privacy laws since 2018, ranging from consumer privacy to social media regulations to health privacy protections, and there are even more being debated at the state and federal level. These regulations impose strict requirements on data collection, storage, and sharing, with severe penalties for non-compliance.
“It’s not just the EU affecting privacy law, but also states such as California, Colorado, and Virginia that are adopting their own comprehensive data privacy laws,” said Dawn C. Nunziato, the Theodore and James Pedas Family Professor of Intellectual Property and Technology Law and the William Wallace Kirkpatrick Research Professor. “This is basically requiring law firms to stand up privacy information practices, but they also need to do the same thing with content and AI regulations.
“I think it’s a nice tie to the growth of the new center,” Nunziato added. “Our electronic lives have changed so much in the past 30 years. This is a whole new world.”
The unfolding legal framework indicates a trend toward increased accountability and transparency in data management and AI deployment. Meanwhile, lawsuits are moving through the courts to challenge the use of copyrighted materials without permission to train AI models. These cases continue to highlight the tension between innovation, intellectual property rights, and privacy.
A Center for Leadership in Privacy Law
GW Law's Privacy and Technology Law Program was formally created in 2023 and incorporated into the new GWCLT, but its history dates back several decades. GW Law was one of the first law schools to offer classes in information privacy, cybersecurity, computer crime, cyberlaw, and other privacy-related arenas.
Beyond its extensive course offerings and specialized concentrations in Intellectual Property (IP) and Patent Technology (PT) programs, GWCLT presents a wealth of opportunities, including prestigious fellowships, scholarly publications such as the Journal of Law and Technology, dynamic events and webinars, and essential career resources for aspiring privacy attorneys.
With globally respected privacy experts, GWCLT has generated scholarship that is frequently cited because it breaks new ground in privacy law. GW Law is also one of a handful of U.S. law schools offering a JD concentration in Privacy, Data Security, and Technology Law.
“I think if you really want to have a complete education in the law, you have to be knowledgeable about privacy and its intersection with technology,” said Solove. “The center gives students the opportunity to learn and apply complex legal frameworks so they can be effective practitioners in a world where data privacy is crucial.”