February 2022

Joshua A T Fairfield is William D Bain Family Professor of Law at Washington and Lee University School of Law.

Law is something central to all areas of our lives, including the protection of data. But how often do we take time to think carefully about the way laws are constructed and the language they use?
Probably not often enough. In this book, Fairfield challenges the common narrative of this modern digital age, which is that technology simply ‘outpaces antiquated legal institutions’. But he goes on to
explain that this is contingent on us using the right language.

“ ‘Wait’ one might say. ‘What’s all this about language? I thought this was a book about law!’ It is. Law is language, a special kind. It is a language that we need to build, to help us cooperate, in order to
deal with the rapid changes introduced by technology”.

Making the reader look at the issue through an entirely different lens feels revelatory. It made me revaluate my own views on the centrality of law whilst also giving me a greater appreciation that this
is something we all need to be involved in – law should not be something separate from or imposed upon us, it should be a reflection of our social norms, values and culture. Highlighting the powerful
role geographical, cultural and linguistic influences play in regulatory principles, Fairfield encourages us to be part of a group that produces “thriving language… values diversity in approach and spreads
norms by persuasion, not coercion, building bridging language, the language of shared goals..”

We can create laws capable of keeping up, but we must be active not passive in that process, understanding the importance, and power of the language we use.