The explosion of social media has carried with it a raft of unanticipated consequences for personal privacy. One issue that has triggered much comment in recent months is the right to protect one’s social media accounts from employers or similarly situated parties. Current laws largely leave that question unanswered, and eager legislators have rushed in to fill the void.
These narrowly targeted “bullet bills” purport to offer finely drawn solutions to discrete problems. Advocates tout the approach as speedy and responsive to constituents’ concerns. Unfortunately, these types of measures can truncate the broader debate, leading to unintended consequences and missed opportunities to address more significant underlying issues in a systematic and thoughtful way.
