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Privacy: What Everyone Needs to Know
We live more and more of our lives online; we rely on the internet as we work, correspond with friends and loved ones, and go through a multitude of mundane activities like paying bills, streaming videos, reading the news, and listening to music. Without thinking twice, we operate with the understanding that the data that traces these activities will not be abused now or in the future. There is an abstract idea of privacy that we invoke, and, concrete rules about our privacy that we can point to if we are pressed. Nonetheless, too often we are uneasily reminded that our privacy is not invulnerable-the data tracks we leave through our health information, the internet and social media, financial and credit information, personal relationships, and public lives make us continuously prey to identity theft, hacking, and even government surveillance.
A great deal is at stake for individuals, groups, and societies if privacy is misunderstood, misdirected, or misused. Popular understanding of privacy doesn't match the heat the concept generates. With a host of cultural differences as to how privacy is understood globally and in different religions, and with ceaseless technological advancements, it is an increasingly complex topic. In this clear and accessible book, Leslie and John G. Francis guide us to an understanding of what privacy can mean and why it is so important. Drawing upon their extensive joint expertise in law, philosophy, political science, regulatory policy, and bioethics, they parse the consequences of the forfeiture, however great or small, of one's privacy.
A great deal is at stake for individuals, groups, and societies if privacy is misunderstood, misdirected, or misused. Popular understanding of privacy doesn't match the heat the concept generates. With a host of cultural differences as to how privacy is understood globally and in different religions, and with ceaseless technological advancements, it is an increasingly complex topic. In this clear and accessible book, Leslie and John G. Francis guide us to an understanding of what privacy can mean and why it is so important. Drawing upon their extensive joint expertise in law, philosophy, political science, regulatory policy, and bioethics, they parse the consequences of the forfeiture, however great or small, of one's privacy.
- GenresNonfiction
352 pages, Paperback
Published July 3, 2017
9 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 10, 2021
An overview of a wide range of privacy topics, responding to common questions. It's about privacy concepts, legislation, and history, with very few actionable steps to protecting your privacy. Topics include privacy in individual and family life, health, education, finance, employment, national and international security, politics, and the Internet. The book is well-researched, presenting a mix of data and opinion, but opinions are more questions to consider than demands that you agree.
As you can see from the table of contents below, the book covers a wide range of privacy topics. I read the chapters about Internet privacy and security (chapters 8 and 9), because that's what I'm most interested in. I read this because I'm increasing my knowledge of Internet privacy.
Throughout the book, the authors compare the US to the EU, which has tighter privacy laws and higher expectations.
Table of Contents
1. Conceptualizing Privacy
2. Protecting Personal Information: Basic Issues
3. Privacy and Health Information
4. Privacy and Educational Information
5. Financial Information, Credit Information, and Information for Employers
6. Law Enforcement Information: Police, Victims, and Suspects
7. Privacy within and Beyond Families and Groups
8. Privacy on the Internet and in Social Media: The Worldwide and Interactive Internet
9. Privacy and Security
10. Privacy and Democracy
Notes
Conceptualizing Privacy
"Put most succinctly, privacy is the 'right to be left alone.'"
Information security: "whether information about you is kept without corruption or destruction and accessible only as the privacy requirements you have stipulated permit."
Financial Information, Credit Information, and Information for Employers
Read privacy notices sent by financial institutions. Opt out of disclosures.
FRCA rules about background checks and credit reports only apply to reports sought from reporting agencies, not other sources. Employers are only restricted by anti-discrimination laws and some state laws, and are otherwise free to find info about candidates and employees online.
Some states prohibit employers from requesting social media passwords, but it's legal in other states.
"Some states also have laws protecting workers' political activities outside of work in a variety of different ways."
Privacy on the Internet and in Social Media: The Worldwide and Interactive Internet
Questions to ask about Internet of Things (IoT) devices
1. What data is being collected?
2. How is data shared?
3. How can I control data collection and sharing?
Assume the worst about info you share on social media. Before you post, think about what your worst enemy could do with that info.
Privacy and Security
How to protect electronic info
• Encrypt emails and text messages with apps like Signal or WhatsApp
• Encrypt files on your computer
• Use strong passwords
• Use two-factor authentication
• When searching the Internet, especially sensitive searches, use a browser that masks your identity
"Cyber security is protection in cyber space, the domain of networked computers. It's the protection of computers and their infrastructure against physical attacks, hacking, malware, viruses and worms, and other hazards."
Conclusion
Americans and Europeans "strike the balance differently between knowledge and forgetting: the right to know and speak freely about others is valued more highly in the United States, whereas the balance in Europe is tilted toward the right to be forgotten."
As you can see from the table of contents below, the book covers a wide range of privacy topics. I read the chapters about Internet privacy and security (chapters 8 and 9), because that's what I'm most interested in. I read this because I'm increasing my knowledge of Internet privacy.
Throughout the book, the authors compare the US to the EU, which has tighter privacy laws and higher expectations.
Table of Contents
1. Conceptualizing Privacy
2. Protecting Personal Information: Basic Issues
3. Privacy and Health Information
4. Privacy and Educational Information
5. Financial Information, Credit Information, and Information for Employers
6. Law Enforcement Information: Police, Victims, and Suspects
7. Privacy within and Beyond Families and Groups
8. Privacy on the Internet and in Social Media: The Worldwide and Interactive Internet
9. Privacy and Security
10. Privacy and Democracy
Notes
Conceptualizing Privacy
"Put most succinctly, privacy is the 'right to be left alone.'"
Information security: "whether information about you is kept without corruption or destruction and accessible only as the privacy requirements you have stipulated permit."
Financial Information, Credit Information, and Information for Employers
Read privacy notices sent by financial institutions. Opt out of disclosures.
FRCA rules about background checks and credit reports only apply to reports sought from reporting agencies, not other sources. Employers are only restricted by anti-discrimination laws and some state laws, and are otherwise free to find info about candidates and employees online.
Some states prohibit employers from requesting social media passwords, but it's legal in other states.
No US federal laws offer general protections for employees in the private sector (nongovernmental employees) for what they can do away from work." But "employers cannot violate federal anti-discrimination laws in how they treat their employees for behavior on or off the job. Under federal law, employers with 15 or more employees cannot discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, color, sex, religion, or disability. Employers with under 15 employees are not covered by these anti-discrimination requirements."Just over half the states do have laws protecting employees from adverse action from their employers because of legal off-work activities."
"Some states also have laws protecting workers' political activities outside of work in a variety of different ways."
Privacy on the Internet and in Social Media: The Worldwide and Interactive Internet
Questions to ask about Internet of Things (IoT) devices
1. What data is being collected?
2. How is data shared?
3. How can I control data collection and sharing?
Assume the worst about info you share on social media. Before you post, think about what your worst enemy could do with that info.
Privacy and Security
How to protect electronic info
• Encrypt emails and text messages with apps like Signal or WhatsApp
• Encrypt files on your computer
• Use strong passwords
• Use two-factor authentication
• When searching the Internet, especially sensitive searches, use a browser that masks your identity
"Cyber security is protection in cyber space, the domain of networked computers. It's the protection of computers and their infrastructure against physical attacks, hacking, malware, viruses and worms, and other hazards."
Conclusion
Americans and Europeans "strike the balance differently between knowledge and forgetting: the right to know and speak freely about others is valued more highly in the United States, whereas the balance in Europe is tilted toward the right to be forgotten."
August 13, 2018
A must read about privacy for anyone involved in technology, education, social media/online life, security, policy and more. This is a pretty comprehensive guide that poses questions about privacy online, in our healthcare, and politics for those living in America. It's a reminder that we take much of our privacy for granted, and to consider at what cost now and for the future.
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