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Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

Abstract

Americans today face unprecedented opportunities to leverage their personal data for health, education, and economic benefit; yet state and federal privacy laws increasingly restrict their ability to do so. This Article argues that the prevailing regulatory paradigm—rooted in paternalism, behavioral assumptions, and a deep distrust of both firms and individuals— has produced a system that paradoxically denies people meaningful control over their own information. As artificial intelligence tools grow more capable, the inability of individuals to share data freely threatens to entrench inequities, concentrate access to high-quality AI systems among the wealthy, and accelerate the formation of an “AI abyss” in which only those able to circumvent current privacy rules reap the benefits of data- driven tools. A durable solution requires recognizing a federal “right to share”: an opt-out mechanism that preempts state laws limiting individuals’ ability to disclose their own information for purposes they choose.

Grounded in empirical research on loss aversion, status-quo bias, and public mistrust of institutions, this Article demonstrates how the existing legal framework systematically suppresses socially valuable data exchanges. Case studies from health, education, and mental-health contexts show how well-intentioned privacy protections routinely impede community-driven efforts to use AI for public benefit, particularly in low-income or resource-constrained regions. By tracing how these restrictions distort incentives, widen inequality, and undermine the development of reliable AI systems, the Article reframes data sharing not as a threat to privacy but as a mechanism of personal agency, informational self-determination, and democratic participation. Recognizing a federal right to share would restore the primacy of individual choice by allowing Americans to opt out of restrictive state laws and contribute their information to cooperatives, community-based AI projects, or private developers under conditions they control. Anchored in Congress’s Commerce Clause authority and bounded by content-neutral safeguards to protect third-party interests, this right would shift the privacy debate away from paternalistic protection toward empowered participation in the AI economy. Ultimately, a right to share would enable individuals—not corporations or governments—to decide how their data moves through the world, ensuring that the transformative potential of AI is accessible to all rather than reserved for the privileged few.

Volume

27

Issue

2

Page

271

Year

2026

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/

Publication Abbreviation

Minn. J. L. Sci. & Tech.

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