Chapter 2 - U.S. Legal Framework

Question 1

Person

Answer 1

Any entity with legal rights, including an individual (“natural person”) or a corporation (“legal person”)

Question 2

Jurisdiction

Answer 2

The authority of a court to hear a particular case. Courts must have jurisdiction over both the parties to the dispute (personal jurisdiction) and the type of dispute (subject matter jurisdiction). The term is also used to denote the geographical area or subject-matter to which such authority applies

Question 3

General vs. Specific Authority

Answer 3

A governmental body can have two types of authority. “General authority” is blanket authority to regulate a field of activity. “Specific authority” is targeted at singular activities that are outlined by legislation.

Question 4

Preemption

Answer 4

A superior government’s ability to have its law(s) supersede those of an inferior government. For example, the U.S. federal government has mandated that no state government can regulate consumer credit reporting.

Question 5

Private right of action

Answer 5

Unless otherwise restricted by law, any individual that is harmed by a violation of the law can file a lawsuit against the violator.

Question 6

Case Law

Answer 6

Principles of law that have been established by judges in past decisions. When similar issues arise again, judges look to the past decisions as precedents and decide the new case in a manner that is consistent with past decisions.

Question 7

Common Law

Answer 7

Unwritten legal principles that have developed over time based on social customs and expectations.

Question 8

Choice

Answer 8

In the context of consent, choice refers to the idea that consent must be freely given and that data subjects must have a genuine choice as to whether to provide personal data or not. If there is no true choice it is unlikely the consent will be deemed valid under the General Data Protection Regulation.

Question 9

Access

Answer 9

The ability to view personal information held by an organization. This may be supplemented by allowing updates or corrections to the information. U.S. laws often provide for access and correction with the information is used for substantive decision making, such as for credit reports.