Concern About Data Collection

Since the beginning, data privacy regulation has focused on collection, storage, and use. You can see it in the OECD Privacy Framework from 1980 (see also this proposed update).
Recently, there has been concerted effort to focus all potential regulation on data use, completely ignoring data collection. Microsoft's Craig Mundie argues this. So does the PCAST report. And the World Economic Forum. This is lobbying effort by US business. My guess is that the companies are much more worried about collection restrictions than use restrictions. They believe that they can slowly change use restrictions once they have the data, but that it's harder to change collection restrictions and get the data in the first place.
We need to regulate collection as well as use. In a new essay, Chris Hoofnagle explains why.