- Biography
- Teaching
- Research and Creative Activity
- Grants
- Honors and Awards
- Service
Journal Articles
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Sanfillippo, M. R. (2019). Topic polarization and push notifications. First Monday, 24(9). 15.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2017). Breaking News: How Push Notifications Alter the Fourth Estate. First Monday, 22.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Packin, N. (2016). Big Data and Social Netbanks, What Happens When Tech Companies Become Financial Companies? . ACM COMPUTERS & SOCIETY,
Book Chapters
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Packin, N. (2020). Algorithmic Analysis of Social Behavior for Profiling, Ranking, and Assessment. In Barfield, W. (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of the Law of Algorithms Cambridge, MA,United States. Cambridge University Press.
(2020). Algorithmic Analysis of Social Behavior for Profiling, Ranking, and Assessment. Cambridge Handbook on the Law of Algorithms (Woodrow Barfield & Ugo Pagallo ed., Cambridge Press
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Packin, N. (2018). Access to Payments and Credit in the Age of Big Data. In Morse, E. A. (Ed.), Electronic Payment Systems: Law and Emerging Technologies The American Bar Association.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Packin, N. (2018). Algorithms and Discrimination. In Barfield, W., & Pagallo, U. (Eds.), Research Handbook of Law and AI (pp. 88-113). Northampton, MA,United States. Elgar.
Law Reviews
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2026). Privacy Law's Great Bait-and-Switch In Progress.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Nielsen, A. (2025). Privacy as a Matter of Public Health (No.1). Columbia Science and Technology Law Review.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Nielsen, A. (2025). Privacy Notice and the Blame Game The Virginia Journal of Law and Technology.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Packin, N. G. (2024). Decentralized Credit Scores: Black Box 3.0 (No.2). American Business Law Journal.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2022). Nobody is Watching Me: Towards Human-Centric Privacy and Humanless Information Protection, The Virginia Journal of Law and Technology (No.2). The Virginia Journal of Law and Technology.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Strandburg, K. (2020). Privacy regulation and Innovation Policy The Yale Journal of Law and Technology .
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Strandburg, K. (2020). Regulation and Innovation: Approaching Market Failure from Both Sides (No.1). The Yale Journal on Regulation.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2019). Data Philanthropy (No.6). The Hastings Law Journal.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Packin, N. (2016). Big Data and Social Netbanks: Are You Ready to Replace Your Bank? HOUSTON LAW REVIEW .
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Packin, N. (2016). On Social Credit and the Right to be Unnetworked COLUMBIA BUSINESS LAW REVIEW.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2015). The Subtle Incentive Theory of Copyright Licensing BROOKLYN LAW REVIEW .
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2014). Combating Trademark Infringement Online: Secondary Liability v. Partnering Facility COLUMBIA JOURNAL OF LAW & THE ARTS .
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2013). Copyright Lawmaking and Public Choice: From Legislative Battles to Private Ordering HARVARD JOURNAL OF LAW & TECHNOLOGY.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2012). Second Level Agreements AKRON LAW REVIEW .
Media Contributions
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2025). Clicking ‘I agree’ online lets data in and keeps lawyers out.
In this piece, I argue that courts increasingly use click-through consent to defeat privacy class actions, treating users as unified when accepting surveillance but fragmented when seeking collective accountability, as illustrated by the Google Chrome litigation. This asymmetry turns the fiction of consent into a shield against enforcement, leaving widespread but diffuse privacy harms effectively beyond the reach of meaningful legal challenge.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Packin, N. G. (2023). Who’s Afraid Of (Suing) DeFi Entities?.
Packin, N. G., & Lev-Aretz, Y. (2023). Who’s Afraid of (Suing) DeFi Entities?, Forbes.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2022). The Home-Sharing Industry and Privacy With Yafit Lev-Aretz (EP. 69) The Fordham Intellectual Property, Media, & Entertainment Law Podcast, (The Fordham Intellectual Property, Media, & Entertainment Law Podcast).
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2021). S5:E7 - Apple’s #SpyPhone, an Apple App Store Settlement, and the Expansion of Government Facial Recognition Software [DevNews].
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2019). Privacy And Power: Your Digital Fingerprint | NBC Nightly News.
Interview about data privacy
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2019). Yafit Lev-Aretz and Katherine Strandburg on Privacy Regulation and Innovation - The Engelberg Center Innovation Policy Colloquium Podcast.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2018). TechCrunch - Facebook and the perils of a personalized choice architecture.
Opinion Article titled "Facebook and the perils of a personalized choice architecture"
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2018). Fairness In Machine Learning and AI, with Gal Yona and Yafit Lev-Aretz, Unsupervised Podcast.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2017). TechCrunch - If it talks like a government and acts like a government, it must be a tech giant .
An opinion piece titled "Free choice must be free"
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2017). TechCrunch - Free choice must be free.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2016). American Banker - Don't Let Facebook Likes Sway Credit Decisions.
Presentations
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Nielsen, A. (2026, March 13). An Empirical Investigation of Current Prospects for Automated Privacy Decisions. Consumer Law Scholars Conference. Boston, MA: University of Boston Law School. In Progress.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Nielsen, A. (2026, May 13). Privacy Law's Dynamic Disequilbria: A Case Study of the UOOM Boom and What May Come. Privacy Law Scholars Conference. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Law School. In Progress.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Nielsen, A. (2026, December 13). Privacy as a Matter of Public Health. Cornell Tech - Digital Life Initiative. New York, NY: Cornell Tech.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2026, May 13). The Impact of AI on Accounting, Finance, Law & Technology. The Impact of AI on Accounting, Finance, Law & Technology. Online: Baruch Starr Career Development Center.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Nielsen, A. Privacy and Public Health . Privacy Research Group. NYU Law School
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Packin, N. G. (2026, April 13). Decentralized Credit Scoring: Black Box 3.0. Wharton Conference on Financial Regulation. Wharton Business School: Wharton Business School.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Nielsen, A. (2026, May 13). Privacy and Public Health . Privacy Law Scholars Conference. Georgetown University Law School: Georgetown University Law School. In Progress.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Nielsen, A. (2026, May 13). Privacy Notice and the Blame Game. Conference on Governance of Emerging Technologies and Science. Arizona: Arizona State University.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Nielsen, A. (2026, October 13). Current Prospects for Automated Data Privacy Opt-Out. Privacy Research Group. : NYU Law School. In Progress.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Nielsen, A. (2026, June 13). Privacy Notice and the Blame Game. Privacy Law Scholars Conference. University of Colorado
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Packin, N. G. (2026, June 13). Decentralized Credit Scores. Privacy Law Scholars Conference. University of Colorado
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2026, July 13). Privacy Notice and the Blame Game. ALSB - Academy of Legal Studies in Business. San Diego, CA: Academy of Legal Studies in Business.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2026, July 13). Humanized Choice Architecture. ALSB - Academy of Legal Studies in Business Conference. San Diego, CA: Academy of Legal Studies in Business. In Progress.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2026, May 13). Humanized Choice Architecture. Digital Manipulation Workshop. Cornell Tech, New York City: Digital Life Initiative. In Progress.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Packin, N. G. Decentralized Credit Scores. Automating Bias: Cardozo Law Review 2023 Symposium. Cardozo Law School, New York
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2026, May 13). Decentralized Credit Scores: The False Hope of Programming Fairness. Governance of Emerging Technologies and Science Conference. Arizona: Arizona State University.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Packin, N. G. (2026, March 13). Chatting with the Future: Exploring the Legal and Ethical Challenges of ChatGPT and Generative AI. Ethics Week Events, Baruch College. Baruch College: The Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2026, March 13). Building More Ethical Tech by Reducing Ethical Debt. Tech Policy Program. Online: The Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2026, April 13). Grassroots Lobbying and Big Tech. The Tech Policy Program. Online: The Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2026, October 13). Decentralized Credit Scores. Transatlantic Blockchain Law. Baruch College: Baruch College.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2021, February 11). Public and Private Sector Uses of Criminal Justice System Data: Perspectives on Digital Punishment, Privacy, and Stigma. Public and Private Sector Uses of Criminal Justice System Data: Perspectives on Digital Punishment, Privacy, and Stigma. : The Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2026, November 13). Facebook: Addiction by Design?. Online: Zicklin Talks Business Webinar Series.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2020, February 11). Ethics in Brand Licensing. Ethics in Brand Licensing. Baruch College: The Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2020, January 31). Privacy Regulation and Innovation policy. Next Generation of Antitrust, Data Privacy and Data Protection Scholars. NYU Law School: NYU Law School.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Strandburg, K. (2020, January 24). Privacy Regulation and Innovation Policy. Penn Law & Innovation Symposium. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Penn Law School.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Sunfilippo, M. R. (2020, November 16). One Size Does Not Fit All: Applying a Single Privacy Policy to (too) Many Contexts. Law and Tech Seminar. Israel: Bar Ilan University.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Sanfilippo, M. R. (2020, February 12). One Size Does Not Fit All: Applying a Single Privacy Policy to (too) Many Contexts. Privacy Research Group. New York, NY: Information Law Institute NYU.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2020, February 27). Social Credit and AI Ethics. : Wharton School of Business University of Pennsylvania.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2020, October 29). Personalized Choice Architecture. Digital Manipulation Workshop. Zoom: Cornell Tech.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2020, November 11). Unpacking the Privacy Paradox: The Role of Attitude Certainty in Data Disclosure Decisions (Comment). The Northeast Privacy Scholars Workshop. Zoom: Northeastern University School of Law.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2020, November 11). Cybersecurity During a Pandemic: Inevitably Vulnerable?. Cybersecurity During a Pandemic: Inevitably Vulnerable?. : The Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2020, November 19). Inside Amazon: The Untold Story of Interest Brawls and Sellers Regulations. Inside Amazon: The Untold Story of Interest Brawls and Sellers Regulations. : The Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2019, October 31). AI for Good. Artificial Intelligence for Good: How Entrepreneurs are Using AI for the Right Reasons. New York, NY: The Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2019, October 25). Privacy and The Human Element. 3rd Annual Symposium on Data Analytics. Baruch College: Baruch College.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Sanfilippo, M. (2019, October 23). Privacy and Religious Views. Privacy Research Group. New York, NY: NYU Law School.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2019, September 27). Data Ethics. Data Ethics Roundtable. Washington DC: Georgetown Ethics Lab.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2019, September 19). Push Notifications and News Agendas. The Law Faculty Research Seminar. New York, NY: Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, City University of New York.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2019, August 10). Current Issues in Privacy Scholarship. ALSB Conference. Montreal Canada: The Academy of Legal Studies of Business.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2019, August 10). Privacy and the Human Element. ALSB Conference. Montreal Canada: The Academy of Legal Studies of Business.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2019, April 12). AI Ethics. The 2019 CUNY Social Justice and Emerging Technologies Confrence. Queens, NY: CUNY.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2019, April 4). Privacy Regulation and Innovation Policy. NYU School of Law Innovation Policy Colloquium. New York, NY: NYU Law School.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2019, March 19). Personalized Choice Architecture. Algorithms, Humans, and Ethics?. New York, NY: The Center for Corporate Integrity, Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2019, March 5). Privacy and the Human Element. Tech Society. Princeton, NJ: Center for Information Technology Policy, Princeton.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2019, March 28). Privacy Regulation and Innovation Policy. Faculty Lunch. New York, NY: Stern School of Business NYU.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2018, October 24). Privacy and the Human Element. Privacy Research Group. New York, NY: NYU.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2018, September 21). Data Philanthropy. Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal Annual Symposium. New York, NY: Fordham Law School.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2018, November 27). Personalized Choice Architecture. AI, Law & Policy. Israel: University of Haifa.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2018, November 28). Data Philanthropy. AI legal and ethical implications. Israel: University of Haifa.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2018, December 3). Data Philanthropy. Georgetown Law-Cornell Tech Data workshop. Washington DC: Georgetown Law School and Cornell Tech.
Lev-Aretz, Y. (2018, October 12). Data Philanthropy. Symposium on Business Analytics. New York, NY: Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, City University of New York.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Sanfilippo, M. R. (2018, September 13). Privacy and Religious Views. Symposium on Applications of Contextual Integrity. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Center for Information Technology Policy.
Other Scholarly Works
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Sanfilippo , M. R. (2020). News coverage gets geo-fragmented.
Research Currently in Progess
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Sanfilippo, M. R.(n.d.). One Size Does Not Fit All: Applying a Single Privacy Policy to (too) Many Contexts. In Progress.
Lev-Aretz, Y.(n.d.). Privacy and religious views . In Progress.
Lev-Aretz, Y., & Nielsen, A.(n.d.). Privacy Agents. In Progress.
This Article examines a quiet legal development with outsized implications: the formal recognition of privacy agents in state data privacy laws. These agents are not human intermediaries. They do not negotiate, reason, or enter into contracts. They are software, simple tools embedded in browsers, that transmit a user’s desire not to have their data sold. Still, for the first time, privacy self-management can be delegated: individuals can install a tool that speaks for them, and the law will listen. It’s a small design change. But legally, and conceptually, it’s a big deal.
We argue that this turn to privacy agents reflects what we call a dynamic disequilibrium in privacy law. On one side, the law increasingly recognizes the burdens of traditional privacy self-management. On the other, it hesitates to fundamentally reallocate responsibility between users and firms. Privacy agents, then, emerge as a compromise to maintain the fiction of individual control while alleviating its practical impossibility.
To explore this disequilibrium empirically, we conducted a longitudinal study of the only currently active privacy agent—Global Privacy Control (GPC). Contrary to expectations drawn from prior privacy research, consumers appear not only willing but eager to adopt these privacy agents, at least in a regulatory environment that has yet to generate pushback from firms. This gap between legal promise and market response defines this current moment—a state of dynamic disequilibrium where the full consequences of legal recognition have not yet taken shape.
This moment of uncertainty conceals another shift underway. While this Article is anchored in the study of low-tech privacy agents, we also flag a more speculative development at the edge of doctrinal awareness: the rise of AI privacy agents. These are not browser extensions, but autonomous systems capable of managing, and perhaps even negotiating, user privacy in a dynamic and adaptive fashion. Under the current statutory language, which is broadly framed and largely technology-agnostic, these AI agents may already qualify for legal recognition. The law has inadvertently cleared the runway for this new kind of privacy intermediary, one that is more powerful, more inscrutable, and potentially more entangled in the principal-agent problem than any tool that came before.
What, then, are we to make of this moment? Our findings suggest not a stable solution, but a fleeting high point. An unexpectedly optimistic interval in which consumers show strong uptake and satisfaction with privacy agents, before the inevitable onset of market resistance and strategic friction. The current success of GPC likely reflects a legal and behavioral window in which neither firms nor enforcers have fully responded to the new regime. As such, this moment is best understood as transitional, not transformative. Privacy agents may yet deliver on their promise, but only if lawmakers, designers, and enforcers recognize the structural dynamics at play and act to sustain (rather than simply declare) the agency of users.