Net Privacy

by Sacha Molitorisz

Billion-dollar fines for Facebook. Cambridge Analytica. Edward Snowden. Apps on our smartphones tracking our every move. Privacy may be a defining issue of our age, but it is also one of the least understood. Our digital world confuses what we know about privacy — what is public, what is private. Do old ethical and legal norms apply to new, digital media? How did the conditions of privacy become so uncertain that we are unsure about our own right to privacy? What can protect us from allowing corporations, governments, hackers and insidious websites to know more about us than we want them to?

Rigorous and engaging, this book examines the minutiae of our digital lives while drawing on a philosophy of ethical and legal frameworks based on the thinking of philosopher Immanuel Kant. With a firm eye on the cutting edge of digital developments, Sacha Molitorisz outlines a robust model of individual consent.

Of urgent importance, this book spells out conceptual and practical steps to ensure our shared future is not dystopian. It shows not only that informed privacy is fundamental to us as individuals, but that in the digital world we need an enforceable regulatory framework to secure our relationships with others and to safeguard our democracies.

'If you undress in front of an open window, it’s your own fault. Sacha Molitorisz makes you realise that you’re undressing in a glasshouse and your clothes are made of cellophane.' — Shaun Micallef, satirist and ex-lawyer

'...[A] comprehensive analysis that offers a much-needed guide to, and thereby hope for, preserving and enhancing privacy, and with it, human dignity and democracy that are otherwise profoundly threatened on numerous fronts...' — Charles Ess, University of Oslo

'Net Privacy is a must-read for regulators, scholars and anyone else grappling with issues around online privacy. It concisely explains how technological innovation has fundamentally reshaped privacy and provides a compelling alternative vision for privacy law and regulation.' — James Meese, RMIT University

'Net Privacy delivers both a call to action, and an action plan, on one of the most important and complex issues of our time.' — Kayleen Manwaring, UNSW

'Written in a highly readable style, and drawing on a rich set of allusions to popular culture and cross-country comparisons, Molitorisz draws on Kantian ethics as a universal measuring stick, providing a prescription for privacy that would shore up our individual and relational autonomy. A much-needed account in troubled digital times.' — Sara Bannerman, McMaster University

'Molitorisz brings an engaging philosophical discussion to the networked complexities of internet privacy threats and abuses in a way that is both attractive and accessible for his readers.' — Tim Dwyer, University of Sydney

Genres: Nonfiction, Technology

368 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2020

Reviews

[Bennor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an important book, but one I struggled to finish. To be fair to the author, I received it as a gift and might not have chosen it for myself.

I loved the earlier, more practical chapters which cover the many privacy issues facing the internet, but the latter two thirds of the book deal mostly with the philosophy, ethics and legal apsects of privacy. There is a clear focus on Kantian ethics and his formula for humanity, and while the concept was both new to me—and very interesting—I found these later chapters very dry and academic. I'm sure that if this was an area of interest it would be fascinating, but it was a little too much for me.

Ultimately, I still feel it is a book worth persevering with if you are interested in the internet or the many privacy issues it is plagued with.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to the issue of privacy and the internet. An Australian perspective. The author much prefers the EU approach to privacy legislation to the Australian Privacy Act of 1988. The author's favourite philosopher on the topic of privacy is Kant and it shows. Fortunately the author doesn't totally agree with everything Kant said - she admits he made mistakes sometimes. The author has one other interesting approach to her arguments - she illustrates many of her arguments with parallel situations from popular movies such as The Truman Show or Batman. This really helps readers understand her propositions.

[Tobin South]

A fascinating use of the ethics of Kant to frame the debate over digital privacy. Sacha introduces the idea of a digital panopticon and eloquently justifies the need for sensible legislation to ensure that humans and their privacy are not a means, but an end in themselves.