On May 25, 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) goes into effect. US Companies and lawmakers are wildly unprepared, relying on outdated enforcement mechanisms and vows of companies who flout data protection. Global issues of surveillance and propaganda are daily news. Widespread use of AI in decision-making, revenge porn and deepfakes are commonplace. States react quickly, passing legislation which mimics GDPR and lights a fire under technology companies to lobby for Federal legislation to provide a preemption cover. How did we get here? This course will examine the tension between opposing approaches to privacy; how these laws came into being and some of their disparate, intended and unintended consequences. We will have a guest speaker from a Silicon Valley technology company who will discuss how these laws are put into practice in building the technology of tomorrow. By the end of the class you will understand the contours of data privacy in Europe and the US and the factors that have gone into the recent surge of interest in US consumer privacy. You will also have a greater understanding of how companies struggle with the technology they create; its impact on privacy and how they manage it.