Financial Privacy in the United States and the European Union: A Path to Transatlantic Regulatory Harmonization

Information has been described as the "cornerstone of a democratic society and market economy,"1 and enhanced technologies for using personal data have arguably transformed financial services into an "information industry." 2 Walter Wriston, former chairman of Citicorp, asserted that "information standards" have replaced money in global financial markets. 3 Information today is fundamentally global. The technologies that carry it ignore national borders. Multinational corporations and consortiums of organizations that share data dot the globe. In the case of the Internet, multinational banking networks... , credit and financial services networks ... , and stock and commodities networks .... it is virtually meaningless to talk of national privacy law. What consumers and service providers alike need are common standards applicable throughout the world. Commonality does not require identical laws but rather legal regimes that, while still reflecting national contexts, are based on shared principles. The sheer technological power of the digital age, offering huge advances in the type and quality of products offered in the economic marketplace, also poses unprecedented threats to personal safety and autonomy if privacy is not adequately protected. In response to mounting privacy concerns in an era of