{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/116143"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/116143","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Tracking technologies, identifiability, and privacy regulations","abstract":"Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2022-11-15 without embargo terms","abstract_html":"Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2022-11-15 without embargo terms","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Yu, Xiaowei"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"J.S.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Law","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Murphy, Colleen","Hurd, Heidi","Rowell, Arden","Kar, Robin"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-08","date_published":"2022-08","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:55Z","subjects":["Tracking","Technologies","Privacy","Identifiability"],"languages":["en","eng"],"rights":["Copyright 2022 Xiaowei Yu"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116143","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Murphy, Colleen","Hurd, Heidi","Rowell, Arden","Kar, Robin"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Yu, Xiaowei"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2022-08","2022-05-17"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text","Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Law"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["J.S.D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Tracking","Technologies","Privacy","Identifiability"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2022 Xiaowei Yu"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116143"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2022-11-15 without embargo terms","The student, Xiaowei Yu, accepted the attached license on 2022-05-14 at 00:18.","The student, Xiaowei Yu, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2022-05-14 at 00:19.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2022-05-17 at 08:53.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #18028 on 2022-11-15 at 17:37:26","Technology companies have made billions of dollars surveilling people through online cookies, smart devices, and algorithms, yet there is no consensus on whether privacy laws should intervene. Transnational privacy laws’ responses to these privacy concerns depend upon the underlying identifiability of information; that is, whether data can be exclusively linked to a person. As a general rule, no violation of privacy legally occurs unless data are personally identifiable. There are two puzzles in applying identifiability in the context of the commercial use of tracking technologies (CUTTs). First, companies can single out a unique individual by combining non-identifiable data. In isolation, these data do not cause privacy concerns. But in combination, they can potentially cause privacy harms. Second, there exist diverging approaches to applying identifiability across jurisdictions. Different jurisdictions have opposite opinions on whether the same data should be treated as identifiable. After surveying statues and cases in the EU, U.S., and China, I found divergent and incompatible ways to categorize identifiable data. I call these common difficulties on defining and applying identifiability across jurisdictions the identifiability problem. This dissertation explains why jurisdictions are struggling to protect privacy through regulating CUTTs. CUTTs pose profound challenges to privacy that multiple jurisdictions remain unable to adequately address. As a comparative legal study, this dissertation discusses the similarities and differences in privacy laws in the EU, U.S., and China regarding CUTTs and the shared struggles to regulate CUTTs these jurisdictions face."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Tracking technologies, identifiability, and privacy regulations"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Murphy, Colleen","Hurd, Heidi","Rowell, Arden","Kar, Robin"],"dc:creator":["Yu, Xiaowei"],"dc:date":["2022-08","2022-05-17"],"dc:description":["Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2022-11-15 without embargo terms","The student, Xiaowei Yu, accepted the attached license on 2022-05-14 at 00:18.","The student, Xiaowei Yu, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2022-05-14 at 00:19.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2022-05-17 at 08:53.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #18028 on 2022-11-15 at 17:37:26","Technology companies have made billions of dollars surveilling people through online cookies, smart devices, and algorithms, yet there is no consensus on whether privacy laws should intervene. Transnational privacy laws’ responses to these privacy concerns depend upon the underlying identifiability of information; that is, whether data can be exclusively linked to a person. As a general rule, no violation of privacy legally occurs unless data are personally identifiable. There are two puzzles in applying identifiability in the context of the commercial use of tracking technologies (CUTTs). First, companies can single out a unique individual by combining non-identifiable data. In isolation, these data do not cause privacy concerns. But in combination, they can potentially cause privacy harms. Second, there exist diverging approaches to applying identifiability across jurisdictions. Different jurisdictions have opposite opinions on whether the same data should be treated as identifiable. After surveying statues and cases in the EU, U.S., and China, I found divergent and incompatible ways to categorize identifiable data. I call these common difficulties on defining and applying identifiability across jurisdictions the identifiability problem. This dissertation explains why jurisdictions are struggling to protect privacy through regulating CUTTs. CUTTs pose profound challenges to privacy that multiple jurisdictions remain unable to adequately address. As a comparative legal study, this dissertation discusses the similarities and differences in privacy laws in the EU, U.S., and China regarding CUTTs and the shared struggles to regulate CUTTs these jurisdictions face."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/116143"],"dc:language":["en","eng"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2022 Xiaowei Yu"],"dc:subject":["Tracking","Technologies","Privacy","Identifiability"],"dc:title":["Tracking technologies, identifiability, and privacy regulations"],"dc:type":["text","Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Law"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["J.S.D."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:55Z"}