ABSTRACT
Privacy law rests on a failed premise. The notice-and-consent paradigm assumes users will read privacy policies, understand them, and make informed choices. They cannot. Reading the policies an average American encounters would require thirty working days per year. Nearly half of American adults lack the literacy to comprehend them. Even informed users cannot negotiate take-it-or-leave-it terms with entities holding asymmetric power. The problem is structural, not remediable through clearer disclosures or stronger enforcement.
This Article proposes the Autonomous Virtual Identity Agent, a legally recognized AI intermediary that acts on users’ behalf in the digital environment. The AVIA reads privacy policies, negotiates terms, monitors compliance, and exercises user rights at a scale no individual could achieve. Drawing on the jurisprudence of legal fictions, the Article develops a complete legal architecture including registration requirements, fiduciary duties, and veil-piercing standards, offering a model statute for legislative adoption.
Kahana, Eran, The Privacy Veil (January 27, 2026).
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