Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a really intriguing decision which identifies, but does not resolve, the complex troubles of privacy in the digital age (U.S. v. Jones, opinion discovered at http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/ten-1259.pdf ). The case deals with the use of a GPS monitoring device to collect information about a suspect. A concurring opinion issued by Justice Sotomayor foreshadows the work that will eventually require to be done regarding the privacy conundrum in the age of smartphones, blogs, and massive data mining.
She recognizes that, in the past, the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure has assumed “secrecy as a prerequisite for privacy.” She points out that, in today’s society, we all offer information in public exchanges of emails, social network postings, and so on., when we engage in commerce, communication, or for convenience. Even so, her opinion is that persons offering information in this manner may possibly not want the data employed for broader purposes.
The present law of the land as interpreted via past judicial decisions does not limit the use of the data if it was voluntarily (eg. not secretly) given / obtained. She, and other justices on the court, use the Jones selection to highlight the want to bring clarity to privacy issues in the digital / mobile age.
These decisions will directly impact the use of information in insurance transactions such as claims investigations and underwriting. Not getting a lawyer, I cannot weigh in with an informed prediction, but I can tell that the concern will be hard to resolve.