Question 21
UnclassifiedHow is the U.S. privacy model most often described in contrast to the EU approach?
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The U.S. privacy model is commonly described as a sectoral system because it relies on “overlapping federal, state, and common-law rules” rather than one comprehensive code. In contrast to the EU’s unified, omnibus approach, U.S. privacy law is pieced together across different industries and legal sources.
Why each option is right or wrong
A. A sectoral model built from overlapping federal, state, and common-law rules
U.S. privacy law is typically characterized as sector-specific rather than omnibus: there is no single federal privacy code, and protection is assembled from overlapping federal statutes, state enactments, and common-law doctrines. That structure is the standard contrast to the EU’s comprehensive, unified framework under the GDPR, which applies across sectors rather than being fragmented by industry or source of law.
B. A single omnibus statute enforced by one national privacy authority
C. A constitutionally unified privacy code that applies only to public agencies
D. A treaty-based model that automatically incorporates foreign privacy law