
Woodrow Hartzog
Professor of Law
Class of 1960 Scholar
BA, Samford University
JD, Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law
LLM, The George Washington University Law School
PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Biography
Professor Hartzog is internationally recognized for his work in privacy and technology law. He has been influential in the debate over privacy and surveillance rules and in the creation and enforcement of information and technology laws. His publications focus on the complex problems that arise when people, organizations, and governments use powerful new technologies to collect, analyze, and share human information.
Professor Hartzog’s work has been published in numerous scholarly publications such as the Yale Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, University of Chicago Law Review, California Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review, and Michigan Law Review and popular national publications such as The Guardian, Wired, BBC, CNN, Bloomberg, New Scientist, Slate, The Atlantic, and The Nation. He has testified multiple times before Congress on data protection issues and served as a commissioner on the Massachusetts Special Commission on Facial Recognition. He is the author of Privacy’s Blueprint: The Battle to Control the Design of New Technologies, published in 2018 by Harvard University Press, and the co-author of Breached! Why Data Security Law Fails and How to Improve It, published in 2022 by Oxford University Press (with Daniel Solove).
Professor Hartzog is a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, a Non-resident Fellow at The Cordell Institute for Policy in Medicine & Law at Washington University, an Affiliate Scholar at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School, and an External Affiliate of the Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute at Northeastern University. Professor Hartzog serves on the advisory board for the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Future of Privacy Forum.
Before joining Boston University School of Law, Professor Hartzog was a Professor of Law and Computer Science at Northeastern University’s School of Law and Khoury College of Computer Sciences and the Starnes Professor of Law at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law. Professor Hartzog has also served as a Visiting Professor at Notre Dame Law School and the University of Maine School of Law. He previously worked as an attorney in private practice and as a trademark attorney for the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He also served as a clerk for the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
- Profile Types
- Faculty, Full-Time Faculty, and Professors & Clinical Instructors
- Areas of Interest
- Cyberlaw, Cybersecurity Law, Law & Technology, Media & First Amendment Law, and Privacy
Publications
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Amogh Pradeep, Johanna Gunawan, Álvaro Feal, Woodrow Hartzog & David Choffnes, Gig Work at What Cost? Exploring Privacy Risks of Gig Work Platform Participation in the U.S. 2025 Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies (2025)
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Neil Richards & Woodrow Hartzog, Against Engagement 104 Boston University Law Review (2024)
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Woodrow Hartzog, Two AI Truths and a Lie 26 Yale Journal of Law & Technology (2024)
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Daniel Solove & Woodrow Hartzog, Kafka in the Age of AI and the Futility of Privacy as Control 104 Boston University Law Review (2024)
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Woodrow Hartzog, Foreword to Information Privacy Law at the Crossroads 104 Boston University Law Review (2024)
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Woodrow Hartzog, Evan Selinger & Johanna Gunawan, Privacy Nicks: How the Law Normalizes Surveillance Washington University Law Review (2024)
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Brief of Amici Curiae Privacy and First Amendment Law Professors in Support of Defendant-Appellant and Reversal
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National Telecommunications and Information Administration: Comments from Researchers at Boston University and the University of Chicago Boston University School of Law Research Paper Series (2023)
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Woodrow Hartzog, What STS Can (and Can’t) Do for Law and Technology JOTWELL (2023)
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Monica Kowalczyk, Johanna Gunawan, David Choffnes, Daniel J. Dubois, Woodrow Hartzog & Christo Wilson, Understanding Dark Patterns in Home IoT Devices CHI '23: Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (2023)
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David Choffnes, Woodrow Hartzog, Scott Jordan, Athina Markopoulou & Zubair Shafiq, A Scientific Approach to Tech Accountability 37 Harvard Journal of Law & Technology (2023)
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Neil Richards, Woodrow Hartzog & Jordan Francis, A Concrete Proposal for Data Loyalty 37 Harvard Journal of Law & Technology (2023)
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Comments of the Cordell Institute for Policy in Medicine & Law at Washington University in St. Louis Federal Trade Commission Docket (2022)
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Woodrow Hartzog & Daniel Solove, Breached!: Why Data Security Law Fails and How to Improve It (2022)
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Woodrow Hartzog & Neil M. Richards, The Surprising Virtues of Data Loyalty 71 Emory Law Journal (2022)
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Woodrow Hartzog & Neil Richards, Legislating Data Loyalty 97 Notre Dame Law Review Reflection (2022)
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Johanna Gunawan, Amogh Pradeep, David Choffnes, Woodrow Hartzog & Christo Wilson, A Comparative Study of Dark Patterns Across Mobile and Web Modalities 5 Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (2021)
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William D. Smart, Cindy M. Grimm & Woodrow Hartzog, An Education Theory of Fault For Autonomous Systems 2 Notre Dame Journal on Emerging Technologies (2021)
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Johanna Gunawan, David Choffnes, Woodrow Hartzog & Christo Wilson, The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Technology Trust Gap 51 Seton Hall Law Review (2021)
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Johanna Gunawan & Woodrow Hartzog, The Case of the Nosy Neighbors, in MIT Case Studies in Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (2021)
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Woodrow Hartzog, What is Privacy? That’s the Wrong Question 88 The University of Chicago Law Review (2021)
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Neil M. Richards & Woodrow Hartzog, A Duty of Loyalty for Privacy Law 99 Washington University Law Review (2021)
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Woodrow Hartzog & Neil M. Richards, Privacy's Constitutional Moment and the Limits of Data Protection 61 Boston College Law Review (2020)
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Neil Richards & Woodrow Hartzog, A Relational Turn for Data Protection? 6 European Data Protection Law Review (2020)
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Woodrow Hartzog, BIPA: The Most Important Biometric Privacy Law in the US?, in Regulating Biometrics: Global Approaches and Urgent Questions (Amba Kak,2020)
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Woodrow Hartzog, The Public Information Fallacy 99 Boston University Law Review (2019)
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Jessica Silbey & Woodrow Hartzog, The Upside of Deep Fakes 78 Maryland Law Review (2019)
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Neil M. Richards & Woodrow Hartzog, The Pathologies of Digital Consent 96 Washington University Law Review (2019)
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Evan Selinger & Woodrow Hartzog, The Inconsentability of Facial Surveillance 66 Loyola Law Review (2019)
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Woodrow Hartzog, Privacy’s Blueprint: The Battle to Control the Design of New Technologies (2018)
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Woodrow Hartzog, Are Privacy Laws Deficient? 2 International Journal for the Data Protection Officer, Privacy Officer and Privacy Counsel (2018)
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Woodrow Hartzog, Body Cameras and the Path to Redeem Privacy Law 96 North Carolina Law Review (2018)
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Woodrow Hartzog, The Case Against Idealising Control 4 European Data Protection Law Review (2018)
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Neil M. Richards & Woodrow Hartzog, Privacy's Trust Gap 126 Yale Law Journal (2017)
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Woodrow Hartzog, On Questioning Automation 48 Cumberland Law Review (2017)
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Woodrow Hartzog, Privacy and Terms of Use, in Social Media and the Law: A Guidebook for Communication Students and Professionals (Daxton R. Stewart,2017)
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Neil M. Richards & Woodrow Hartzog, Trusting Big Data Research 65 DePaul Law Review (2017)
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Woodrow Hartzog, The Inadequate, Invaluable Fair Information Practices 76 Maryland Law Review (2017)
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Woodrow Hartzog, Et tu, Android?: regulating dangerous and dishonest robots 5 Journal of Human-Robot Interaction (2016)
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Woodrow Hartzog & Evan Selinger, The Internet of Heirlooms and Disposable Things 17 North Carolina Journal of Law and Technology (2016)
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Lisa A. Shay, Woodrow Hartzog, John Nelson & Gregory Conti, Do Robots Dream of Electric Laws? An Experiment in Law as Algorithm, in Robot Law (Ryan Calo, A. Michael Froomkin, & Ian Kerr,2016)
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Neil Richards & Woodrow Hartzog, Taking Trust Seriously in Privacy Law 19 Stanford Technology Law Review (2016)
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Evan Selinger & Woodrow Hartzog, Obscurity and Privacy, in Spaces for the Future: A Companion to Philosophy of Technology (Joseph C. Pitt & Ashley Shew,2016)
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Woodrow Hartzog, Gregory Conti, John Nelson & Lisa A. Shay, Inefficiently Automated Law Enforcement 2015 Michigan State Law Review (2016)
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Lisa A. Shay, Woodrow Hartzog, John Nelson, Dominic Larkin & Gregory Conti, Confronting Automated Law Enforcement, in Robot Law (Ryan Calo, A. Michael Froomkin, & Ian Kerr,2016)
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Ira S. Rubinstein & Woodrow Hartzog, Anonymization and Risk 90 Washington Law Review (2016)
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Woodrow Hartzog, Unfair and Deceptive Robots 74 Maryland Law Review (2015)
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Evan Selinger & Woodrow Hartzog, Facebook’s emotional contagion study and the ethical problem of co-opted identity in mediated environments where users lack control 12 Research Ethics (2015)
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Woodrow Hartzog & Evan Selinger, Surveillance as Loss of Obscurity 72 Washington and Lee Law Review (2015)
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Woodrow Hartzog & Daniel J. Solove, The Scope and Potential of FTC Data Protection 83 George Washington Law Review (2015)
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Woodrow Hartzog & Evan Selinger, Increasing the Transaction Costs of Harassment 95 Boston University Law Review Annex (2015)
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Gregory Conti, Lisa A. Shay & Woodrow Hartzog, Deconstructing the Relationship Between Privacy and Security [Viewpoint] 33 IEEE Technology and Society Magazine (2014)
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Woodrow Hartzog, Reviving Implied Confidentiality 89 Indiana Law Journal (2014)
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Woodrow Hartzog, The Value of Modest Privacy Protections in a Hyper Social World 12 Colorado Technology Law Journal (2014)
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Daniel J. Solove & Woodrow Hartzog, The FTC and the New Common Law of Privacy 114 Columbia Law Review (2014)
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Woodrow Hartzog, Here's to the right to be partially forgotten 220 NewScientist (2013)
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Woodrow Hartzog, A stronger 'online eraser' law would be a mistake 220 NewScientist (2013)
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Woodrow Hartzog & Evan Selinger, Big Data in Small Hands 66 Stanford Law Review Online (2013)
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Woodrow Hartzog, The Fight to Frame Privacy 111 Michigan Law Review (2013) (book review)
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Woodrow Hartzog & Frederic D. Stutzman, Obscurity by Design 88 Washington Law Review (2013)
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Lisa A. Shay, Gregory Conti & Woodrow Hartzog, Beyond sunglasses and spray paint: A taxonomy of surveillance countermeasures, International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS) (2013)
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Woodrow Hartzog & Frederic Stutzman, The Case for Online Obscurity 101 California Law Review (2013)
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Woodrow Hartzog, Social Data 74 Ohio State Law Journal (2013)
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Woodrow Hartzog, Chain-Link Confidentiality 46 Georgia Law Review (2012)
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Woodrow Hartzog, Website Design as Contract 60 American University Law Review (2011)
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Woodrow Hartzog, The New Price to Play: Are Passive Online Media Users Bound by Terms of Use 15 Communication Law and Policy (2010)
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Woodrow Hartzog, Promises and Privacy: Promissory Estoppel and Confidential Disclosure in Online Communities 82 Temple Law Review (2009)
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Woodrow Hartzog, The Privacy Box: A Software Proposal 14 First Monday (2009)
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Woodrow Hartzog, Falling On Deaf Ears: Is the "Fail-Safe" Triennial Exemption Provision in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act Effective in Protecting Fair Use? 12 Journal of Intellectual Property Law (2005)
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Woodrow Hartzog, Gaining Momentum: A Review of Recent Developments Surrounding the Expansion of the Copyright Misuse Doctrine and Analysis of the Doctrine in its Current Form 10 Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review (2004)
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Woodrow Hartzog, The Magic Lantern Revealed: A Report of the FBI's New Key Logging Trojan and Analysis of its Possible Treatment in a Dynamic Legal Landscape 20 John Marshall Journal of Computer & Information Law (2002)
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In the Media
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The Regulatory Review January 31, 2025
Week in Review
Woodrow Hartzog's work is mentioned.
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BU Today January 15, 2025
Updated: Supreme Court Rules in Favor of TikTok Ban in Us Unless Chinese Parent Company Sell
Jessica Silbey and Woodrow Hartzog are quoted.
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MIT Technology Review January 7, 2025
What’s Next for Our Privacy?
Woodrow Hartzog is quoted.
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Tech Policy Press December 23, 2024
Top 25 Tech Policy Press Podcasts of 2024
Woodrow Hartzog is mentioned.
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Tech Policy .Press November 3, 2024
What Kafka Can Teach Us About Privacy in the Age of AI
Woodrow Hartzog is interviewed.
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The New York Times October 24, 2024
Two Students Created Face Recognition Glasses. It Wasn’t Hard.
Woodrow Hartzog is quoted.
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The New York Times October 23, 2024
Kroger and Walmart Deny ‘Surge Pricing’ After Adopting Digital Price Tags
Woodrow Hartzog is quoted.
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The American Law Institute October 7, 2024
The American Law Institute Announced the Newly Elected Members
Woodrow Hartzog is mentioned.
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IAPP September 13, 2024
A View from DC: Privacy Law Flirts with Its ‘Ban It’ Era
Woodrow Hartzog is mentioned.
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September 11, 2024
Taylor Swift Cites ‘Fears around AI’ and Deepfakes in Kamala Harris Endorsement
Woodrow Hartzog is quoted.
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Leiter's Law School Reports August 28, 2024
10 Most Cited Law & Technology Faculty in the US, 2019–2023 (CORRECTED)
Woodrow Hartzog is mentioned.
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Billboard August 19, 2024
Can Taylor Swift Sue Donald Trump over AI-Generated False Endorsement?
Jessica Silbey and Woodrow Hartzog are quoted.
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Nixon Peabody August 5, 2024
Professor Hartzog on Web Scraping, AI, and Privacy
Woodrow Hartzog is interviewed.
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iapp April 26, 2024
Notes From the IAPP Canada Managing Director
Woodrow Hartzog is featured.
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readwrite April 5, 2024
Are Deepfakes Illegal? AI’s Dark Side Explained
Woodrow Hartzog is quoted.
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Stories from The Record
Activities & Engagements
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