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Seek and Hide: The Tangled History of the Right to Privacy
The surprising story of the fitful development of the right to privacy—and its battle against the public’s right to know—across American history.
There is no hotter topic than the desire to constrain tech companies like Facebook from exploiting our personal data, or to keep Alexa from spying on you. Privacy has also provoked constitutional crisis (presidential tax returns) while Justice Clarence Thomas seeks to remove the protection of journalists who publish the truth about public officials. Is privacy under deadly siege, or actually surging?
The answer is both, but that’s doubly dangerous, as legal expert Amy Gajda proves. Too little privacy means that unwanted exposure by those who deal in and publish secrets. Too much means the famous and infamous can cloak themselves in secrecy and shut down inquiry, and return us to the time before movements like Black Lives Matter and #MeToo opened eyes to hidden truths.
We are not the first generation to grapple with that clash, to worry that new technologies and fraying social mores pose an existential threat to our privacy while we recognize the value in knowing certain things. Seek and Hide carries us from the Gilded Age, when the concept of a right to privacy by name first entered American law and society, to now, when the law allows a Silicon Valley titan like Peter Thiel to destroy a media site like Gawker out of spite.
Disturbingly, she shows that the original concern was not about intrusions into the lives of ordinary folks, but that the wealthy and powerful should not have their dignity assaulted by the wretches of the popular press like Nellie Bly. Alexander Hamilton argued both sides of the issue depending on what it was being known, and about whom. The modern right is anchored in a landmark 1890 essay by Louis Brandeis before he joined the Supreme Court, where he continued his instrumental support for the “privacies of life.” In the 1960s, privacy interests gave way to the glory days of investigative reporting in the era of Vietnam and Watergate. By the 1990s we were on our way to today’s full-blown crisis of privacy in the digital age, from websites to webcams and the Forever Internet erasing our “right to be forgotten.” Or does it?
We stand today at another crossroads in which privacy is widely believed to be under assault from every direction by the anything-for-clicks business model and technology that can record and report our every move. This timely book reminds us to remember the lessons of history: that such a seemingly innocent call can also be used to restrict essential freedoms to a democracy—because it already has.
There is no hotter topic than the desire to constrain tech companies like Facebook from exploiting our personal data, or to keep Alexa from spying on you. Privacy has also provoked constitutional crisis (presidential tax returns) while Justice Clarence Thomas seeks to remove the protection of journalists who publish the truth about public officials. Is privacy under deadly siege, or actually surging?
The answer is both, but that’s doubly dangerous, as legal expert Amy Gajda proves. Too little privacy means that unwanted exposure by those who deal in and publish secrets. Too much means the famous and infamous can cloak themselves in secrecy and shut down inquiry, and return us to the time before movements like Black Lives Matter and #MeToo opened eyes to hidden truths.
We are not the first generation to grapple with that clash, to worry that new technologies and fraying social mores pose an existential threat to our privacy while we recognize the value in knowing certain things. Seek and Hide carries us from the Gilded Age, when the concept of a right to privacy by name first entered American law and society, to now, when the law allows a Silicon Valley titan like Peter Thiel to destroy a media site like Gawker out of spite.
Disturbingly, she shows that the original concern was not about intrusions into the lives of ordinary folks, but that the wealthy and powerful should not have their dignity assaulted by the wretches of the popular press like Nellie Bly. Alexander Hamilton argued both sides of the issue depending on what it was being known, and about whom. The modern right is anchored in a landmark 1890 essay by Louis Brandeis before he joined the Supreme Court, where he continued his instrumental support for the “privacies of life.” In the 1960s, privacy interests gave way to the glory days of investigative reporting in the era of Vietnam and Watergate. By the 1990s we were on our way to today’s full-blown crisis of privacy in the digital age, from websites to webcams and the Forever Internet erasing our “right to be forgotten.” Or does it?
We stand today at another crossroads in which privacy is widely believed to be under assault from every direction by the anything-for-clicks business model and technology that can record and report our every move. This timely book reminds us to remember the lessons of history: that such a seemingly innocent call can also be used to restrict essential freedoms to a democracy—because it already has.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published April 12, 2022
45 people are currently reading
986 people want to read
About the author
Amy Gajda
8 books9 followersAmy Gajda is the Class of 1937 Professor of Law at Tulane Law School, a former journalist, and one of the country's top experts on privacy and the media. She was an award-winning legal commentator on Illinois public radio stations and has written for The New York Times and Slate and provided expert commentary for The New Yorker, The Guardian, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press, as well as C-SPAN, CBS Mornings, and many more. She lives in New Orleans.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
July 25, 2022
The rights of the powerful dictate the rights of the rest.
May 7, 2022
I think a few quotes might do a good job of summarizing the issues covered by Gajda in "Seek and Hide." Namely:
"[P]rotection for the powerful is a familiar theme in the history of the right to privacy."
"When we say freedom of the press, we can't possibly mean it in an absolute sense. Because total press freedom would be, emphatically, Pandora's box. The source of every evil."
"Where does public interest stop and the right to privacy begin? What type of information do we all have the right to know?"
The book is a well-written history chronicling the tug of war between freedom of speech and privacy in the United States. And the focus really is on history - albeit history that is very much relevant today - to the detriment of a more extensive discussion of the state of the struggle and the issues today.
As is to be expected by both the subject and the author (a Law School Professor at Tulane), it's a book that leans heavily on U.S. case law. If you have no or little interest in either, this book is not for you (Full disclosure, this narrow-minded focus weighed down my enjoyment of the book somewhat). There is very little discussion of generally applicable ethics, here, that doesn't also pertain directly to specific legal cases. But if it sounds right up your alley, I can easily imagine this being a four star - maybe even a five star - star read.
Now, although some of the author's opinions shine through in the writing, she doesn't really have any answers to that last quote above. It's not that kind of book. Instead, it highlights some of the interests behind the legal struggle it chronicles. It illustrates how the issues have evolved in conjunction with- and in opposition to each other. It contrasts and compares pros and cons. And it highlights the onion-like layers that are considered in the creation of policy and law surrounding these thorny, sometimes diametrically opposed, issues.
It is a highly relevant discussion.
Because, as she says, "[I]f you're creeped out about the amount of information that's available on public databases [...] from the 1880s, and about the fact that a stranger can peruse all of it [...], consider what they know about each of us today, who has access to all that data, and what will become of it in the future."
"[P]rotection for the powerful is a familiar theme in the history of the right to privacy."
"When we say freedom of the press, we can't possibly mean it in an absolute sense. Because total press freedom would be, emphatically, Pandora's box. The source of every evil."
"Where does public interest stop and the right to privacy begin? What type of information do we all have the right to know?"
The book is a well-written history chronicling the tug of war between freedom of speech and privacy in the United States. And the focus really is on history - albeit history that is very much relevant today - to the detriment of a more extensive discussion of the state of the struggle and the issues today.
As is to be expected by both the subject and the author (a Law School Professor at Tulane), it's a book that leans heavily on U.S. case law. If you have no or little interest in either, this book is not for you (Full disclosure, this narrow-minded focus weighed down my enjoyment of the book somewhat). There is very little discussion of generally applicable ethics, here, that doesn't also pertain directly to specific legal cases. But if it sounds right up your alley, I can easily imagine this being a four star - maybe even a five star - star read.
Now, although some of the author's opinions shine through in the writing, she doesn't really have any answers to that last quote above. It's not that kind of book. Instead, it highlights some of the interests behind the legal struggle it chronicles. It illustrates how the issues have evolved in conjunction with- and in opposition to each other. It contrasts and compares pros and cons. And it highlights the onion-like layers that are considered in the creation of policy and law surrounding these thorny, sometimes diametrically opposed, issues.
It is a highly relevant discussion.
Because, as she says, "[I]f you're creeped out about the amount of information that's available on public databases [...] from the 1880s, and about the fact that a stranger can peruse all of it [...], consider what they know about each of us today, who has access to all that data, and what will become of it in the future."
Read
May 10, 2022"'Seek and Hide' focuses on a specific kind of privacy conflict: the propriety of publicizing true but intimate or embarrassing facts about a person. That sort of shame-inducing exposure may sound almost passé in the era of Twitter and TMZ. We’re by now used to personal missteps forever preserved online, innuendo circulating on the web, doxing as a weapon of rhetorical war. We take for granted the constant prying that seems to come with a life hooked up to the internet. But the history of disputes over press invasions serves as a kind of barometer, revealing the cyclical nature of privacy’s fortunes. It also highlights the persistent disparities in whose privacy has mattered to lawmakers and courts.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...
January 16, 2023
I listened to the audiobook version. This was a great introduction to the history of privacy law and the constant push and pull between the right to privacy and the freedom of press/speech. I especially appreciated the primer at the beginning on US law and how common law and precedents work. It made it a lot easier to understand the rest of the book.
One slightly depressing take away is that much of the history of the fight between privacy and the public's right to know certain information hinges on the whims and grievances of rich people/powerful public officials. Many of the strongest arguments for either side were made with clear ulterior motives. The author makes a strong case that absolutist thought on either side of the debate will lead to more harm than good and that we need to balance the public benefit with individual's decency. This seems to be the answer to most questions, and highlights the need for scrutiny of the courts to be sure they aren't serving only the powerful.
One slightly depressing take away is that much of the history of the fight between privacy and the public's right to know certain information hinges on the whims and grievances of rich people/powerful public officials. Many of the strongest arguments for either side were made with clear ulterior motives. The author makes a strong case that absolutist thought on either side of the debate will lead to more harm than good and that we need to balance the public benefit with individual's decency. This seems to be the answer to most questions, and highlights the need for scrutiny of the courts to be sure they aren't serving only the powerful.
May 13, 2022
With the potential repeal of Roe v. Wade looming in the Supreme Court, I had anticipated that Amy Gajda's book, which was published in mid-April of this year, would be sadly out-0f-date. But this was far from the case. The history of the "Right of Privacy" Gadja sets forth follows an uncertain, murky and twisted path. To understand the complexities involved, her book should be required reading. Especially now.
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January 8, 2023Note: My star system means:
Unrated: Either DNF'ed - generally because the writing at some point made me angry and I lost faith in the author - or F'ed but resentfully so.
*: The author delivered the bare minimum for me to finish the book
**: Good enough to hold my attention on a subway ride or, for non-fiction, interesting ideas told in a mediocre way
***: Maybe there were some issues with the writing but still totally absorbing/interesting
****: Either a book where the writing wasn't the best but I inhaled it anyway or the reverse, where the writing was fantastic though maybe it was a bit slow-going in parts
*****: I loved the writing and was totally inhaled by the book period
Well this nonfiction book about (I thought) the legal history of the right to privacy actually turned out to be a (much more irritating and ultimately DNFed) history of the scandals which made courts consider the right to privacy. I can't say this was an authorial flaw so if you like American history and biographies of people like Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis and the issues of his day (late 1800s) such as invasive newspapers and how those issues came up in the courts, then you'll likely enjoy this book and actually finish it. I'm reviewing this not because it's really a review as in if I'd known it was primarily things like a deep dive into Grover Cleveland's and later Warren Harding's sex lives, I'd have skipped it to begin with and it's really not fair at all to the author to criticize her book for not being my preferred way of reading about legal histories. (See Adam Winkler's awesome books on the history of the 2nd Amendment and how corporations acquired Constitutional rights for my preferred way of reading about these subjects which is the history as a framework for court cases and then an analysis of those cases and how they affected legal thought on subsequent cases which is what this book lacked). I'm leaving the review here because she wrote what she wrote. Apparently the book continues into today's issues with the internet but honestly I was so bored about 75% in when it was still giving details around Teapot Dome and the like that I just quit. So there you go. If you're a history buff who's interested in this topic, there's a ton of research and the book is easy to read and if I were that person I've no doubt I’d have finished the book and written a much more positive review.
For more book, TV, and movie reviews, subscribe to my Substack The Media Report and follow me on Twitter and Instagram!
Unrated: Either DNF'ed - generally because the writing at some point made me angry and I lost faith in the author - or F'ed but resentfully so.
*: The author delivered the bare minimum for me to finish the book
**: Good enough to hold my attention on a subway ride or, for non-fiction, interesting ideas told in a mediocre way
***: Maybe there were some issues with the writing but still totally absorbing/interesting
****: Either a book where the writing wasn't the best but I inhaled it anyway or the reverse, where the writing was fantastic though maybe it was a bit slow-going in parts
*****: I loved the writing and was totally inhaled by the book period
Well this nonfiction book about (I thought) the legal history of the right to privacy actually turned out to be a (much more irritating and ultimately DNFed) history of the scandals which made courts consider the right to privacy. I can't say this was an authorial flaw so if you like American history and biographies of people like Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis and the issues of his day (late 1800s) such as invasive newspapers and how those issues came up in the courts, then you'll likely enjoy this book and actually finish it. I'm reviewing this not because it's really a review as in if I'd known it was primarily things like a deep dive into Grover Cleveland's and later Warren Harding's sex lives, I'd have skipped it to begin with and it's really not fair at all to the author to criticize her book for not being my preferred way of reading about legal histories. (See Adam Winkler's awesome books on the history of the 2nd Amendment and how corporations acquired Constitutional rights for my preferred way of reading about these subjects which is the history as a framework for court cases and then an analysis of those cases and how they affected legal thought on subsequent cases which is what this book lacked). I'm leaving the review here because she wrote what she wrote. Apparently the book continues into today's issues with the internet but honestly I was so bored about 75% in when it was still giving details around Teapot Dome and the like that I just quit. So there you go. If you're a history buff who's interested in this topic, there's a ton of research and the book is easy to read and if I were that person I've no doubt I’d have finished the book and written a much more positive review.
For more book, TV, and movie reviews, subscribe to my Substack The Media Report and follow me on Twitter and Instagram!
May 30, 2022
Quick Take: The legal questions of “the right to privacy” vs. “the right to know” is ongoing, complex and has far reaching consequences for us today.
Seek and Hide by Amy Gajda explores the legal precedent “the right to privacy” both through historical and current legal cases.
All the way back to the founding of the United States, the “right to privacy” has been a concern. Powerful people like Thomas Jefferson successfully kept his scandalous relationship with his slave Sally out of the newspapers due to his supposed “right to privacy.” This book follows the legal history of privacy from the founding of the United States today. According to Gajda, “…protection for the powerful is a familiar theme in the history of the right to privacy.”
Gajda walks through some of the most influential cases that regard “the right to privacy.” While some of the stories are winding and hard to follow, I still enjoyed hearing about the scandalous dramas of the past. It seems like humanity hasn’t really changed much in the past hundred years - everyone loves a bit of juicy gossip!
The right to privacy is a complex legal issue divided between an individual’s “right to privacy” and the public’s “right to know.” I found many of the cases frustrating and unfair when it seemed the media could publish explicit information about someone at the expense of their privacy and dignity. I felt angry at many of the legal outcomes of cases in this book. Can we not find a better balance between the “right to privacy” and freedom of speech? Right now, it’s pretty much anything goes no matter how hateful, revealing, or indecent.
Here are some questions relevant to “the right of privacy law” today: should websites be held liable for the content others post on their platform? With cameras on many doorsteps, what should be kept private?
This book is especially relevant today given that Roe Vs. Wade was made on the precedent of “the right to privacy.” If you’re interested in this topic or privacy issues, I can wholeheartedly recommend this book.
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Non-Fiction/History
Check it out on Instagram HERE!
Seek and Hide by Amy Gajda explores the legal precedent “the right to privacy” both through historical and current legal cases.
All the way back to the founding of the United States, the “right to privacy” has been a concern. Powerful people like Thomas Jefferson successfully kept his scandalous relationship with his slave Sally out of the newspapers due to his supposed “right to privacy.” This book follows the legal history of privacy from the founding of the United States today. According to Gajda, “…protection for the powerful is a familiar theme in the history of the right to privacy.”
Gajda walks through some of the most influential cases that regard “the right to privacy.” While some of the stories are winding and hard to follow, I still enjoyed hearing about the scandalous dramas of the past. It seems like humanity hasn’t really changed much in the past hundred years - everyone loves a bit of juicy gossip!
The right to privacy is a complex legal issue divided between an individual’s “right to privacy” and the public’s “right to know.” I found many of the cases frustrating and unfair when it seemed the media could publish explicit information about someone at the expense of their privacy and dignity. I felt angry at many of the legal outcomes of cases in this book. Can we not find a better balance between the “right to privacy” and freedom of speech? Right now, it’s pretty much anything goes no matter how hateful, revealing, or indecent.
Here are some questions relevant to “the right of privacy law” today: should websites be held liable for the content others post on their platform? With cameras on many doorsteps, what should be kept private?
This book is especially relevant today given that Roe Vs. Wade was made on the precedent of “the right to privacy.” If you’re interested in this topic or privacy issues, I can wholeheartedly recommend this book.
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Non-Fiction/History
Check it out on Instagram HERE!
May 30, 2023
Expecting a topical tome explaining the foundation of the modern state of privacy internationally and exploring more of the current controversy about data privacy, I was extremely disappointed to read the whole book and find nothing more than a lot of faff about journalistic investigations vis-a-vis privacy. The information presented is extremely well sourced and cited, but ultimately unsatisfying. It's hoping you're going to get a full course meal and instead chewing your way through a huge pile of breadsticks only to find nothing but crumbs at the end. "Where's the beef?"
Want to read
September 15, 2021Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
October 5, 2022
Interesting history of the right to privacy. I was mostly bored in the beginning but it picked up when talking about the internet.
November 24, 2022
3.5- parts were super interesting but some were confusing for a non-lawyer
March 19, 2023
My mom: "Kobe Bryant's wife got millions of dollars because a police officer took a picture of the helicopter crash and it was published".
Me, who just finished "Seek and Hide": **INHALE** "WELL, in 1890 [...]"
Me, who just finished "Seek and Hide": **INHALE** "WELL, in 1890 [...]"
January 12, 2023
My We the People coach said that this is a very interesting book, and so I read it because I love getting more case law hotseat evidence. This indeed is an interesting exploration of the roots of privacy, specifically the ability of individuals to violate others' privacy. I didn't know that this idea of individual privacy has its origins in newspapers, but it explains why The Right to Privacy 1890 was basically all about press. I was reading this for some more information about case law, which this book certainly delivered on. Some pages were just like ten cases with sentence descriptions to give context. I want to say that I wish these cases received more detail and some other cases received less, but then the book would be too long and unfocused and this book is probably not the right place to look for those descriptions anyway.
The whole time while reading, I was wondering where we draw the line between privacy versus the public's right to know/freedom of the press, and I wish the author gave more opinion on that beyond the discussion of how the line constantly shifts. But that might just be because it is difficult to have an opinion on where this exact line would be. This book also focuses on privacy from individuals but really does not speak much about your right to privacy from the government, which I think is another very important facet to the right to privacy. It seems to be a pretty large omission, especially considering some very relevant privacy ideas related to the government like restricting abortion, vaccine mandates, or government surveillance. Even an acknowledgement of how these things differ would have been nice, but I bet I can find this in a different book. Published after Dobbs v. Jackson (2022). (:
The whole time while reading, I was wondering where we draw the line between privacy versus the public's right to know/freedom of the press, and I wish the author gave more opinion on that beyond the discussion of how the line constantly shifts. But that might just be because it is difficult to have an opinion on where this exact line would be. This book also focuses on privacy from individuals but really does not speak much about your right to privacy from the government, which I think is another very important facet to the right to privacy. It seems to be a pretty large omission, especially considering some very relevant privacy ideas related to the government like restricting abortion, vaccine mandates, or government surveillance. Even an acknowledgement of how these things differ would have been nice, but I bet I can find this in a different book. Published after Dobbs v. Jackson (2022). (:
March 17, 2024
"Seek and Hide: The Tangled History of the Right to Privacy" by Amy Gajda offers a comprehensive examination of the intricate interplay between privacy and the media landscape. Gajda's exploration spans from the foundational cases of the 19th century, such as the Warren and Brandeis article, which established the right to privacy, to the contemporary challenges posed by digital technologies and social media platforms. Through meticulous research and analysis, Gajda navigates through the historical evolution of privacy law, tracing its trajectory alongside advancements in photography, journalism, and online communication.
One significant aspect that Gajda delves into is the role of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a pivotal law that shapes the responsibilities and liabilities of online platforms regarding user-generated content. By dissecting this complex legal concept in Section 11 of her book, Gajda provides readers with a nuanced understanding of its implications for online privacy and content moderation.
Moreover, Gajda confronts the alarming phenomenon of doxxing, where individuals' personal information is maliciously exposed online, highlighting the dire consequences and ethical dilemmas inherent in the digital age. Through a blend of historical precedents and contemporary case studies, Gajda prompts readers to grapple with the delicate balance between privacy rights and the free dissemination of information in an increasingly interconnected world.
"Seek and Hide" emerges as a meticulously researched and thought-provoking exploration of a pressing issue in modern society. It offers invaluable insights for individuals concerned with safeguarding privacy rights amidst the ever-shifting dynamics of the digital landscape.
One significant aspect that Gajda delves into is the role of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a pivotal law that shapes the responsibilities and liabilities of online platforms regarding user-generated content. By dissecting this complex legal concept in Section 11 of her book, Gajda provides readers with a nuanced understanding of its implications for online privacy and content moderation.
Moreover, Gajda confronts the alarming phenomenon of doxxing, where individuals' personal information is maliciously exposed online, highlighting the dire consequences and ethical dilemmas inherent in the digital age. Through a blend of historical precedents and contemporary case studies, Gajda prompts readers to grapple with the delicate balance between privacy rights and the free dissemination of information in an increasingly interconnected world.
"Seek and Hide" emerges as a meticulously researched and thought-provoking exploration of a pressing issue in modern society. It offers invaluable insights for individuals concerned with safeguarding privacy rights amidst the ever-shifting dynamics of the digital landscape.
Read
May 1, 2022Gajda traces the history of the sometimes contradictory rights of privacy and freedom of the press throughout the history of the United States. The first part of the book focuses on the historic development of the right of privacy and emphasizes how it seemed to be predominantly used by powerful people to conceal aspects of their personal lives that would have made them look really bad if revealed. She talks specifically about President Grover Cleaveland and his amorous affairs, including a possible illegitimate child, that were all kept from the view of the public and press by his assertion of the right to privacy. No such right is provided in the Constitution, but over a century of judicial rulings, and in some cases, legislation, has shaped this right. The later part of the book focuses more on modern day issues such as data privacy rights and social media. It was most interesting to me to see how the right to privacy has changed almost entirely based on how the courts have ruled. They were much more privacy-protecting it seemed around the late 1900s and early 20th Century, but then a shift happens and the freedom of the press triumphs over privacy for several decades. Finally, in the 21st century, we’ve seen courts begin to rule more in favor of privacy again. Gajda doesn’t really explore why this shift happens, but it’s interesting to consider. Although I found it a bit dry and repetitive in places and thought that the historical review could have been abbreviated, I found this book really informative and would recommend.
December 27, 2022
It must have been challenging to write a book about the history of the right to privacy in the U.S. and keep it from being deadly dull, but Amy Gajda has done it. This is sort of like a “pop law” book that makes big, complicated legal subjects understandable to a layperson just because of how engaging the author’s writing is. She balances legal concepts with stories that illustrate them and make them accessible. To sum up the book: there has always been a conflict between the media’s right to publish and the individual’s right to privacy. Which of those two is on top at the moment (based on court verdicts) goes back and forth over the years. Basically everyone agrees that the media can’t just say whatever they want about whoever they want (whether it’s true or not), but no court has ever been able to/willing to point out exactly where the line is. And of course the Internet has made all of this more complicated. This is a great book for anyone interested in the subject of exactly what privacy means in the eyes of law in the U.S., and also for any non-lawyers who like to learn more about law.
April 6, 2023
I studied the right to privacy a teeny tiny bit when I was an undergraduate, starting with cases that granted that the government did not have a right to know what happened in your bedroom, but we have come a long way from there--and the concept was much older than I even knew.
The battle between an individual's right to privacy and the public's right to know has been fought for centuries. The founders demanded privacy for all the wrong press-quashing reasons. They wanted their dirty secrets kept just that--secret. I did not realize that Hamilton and Jefferson had it out in the public press of their time, and that Jefferson's relationship with his wife's sister, the slave Sally Hemmings, was known in his time. The Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis famously promoted First Amendment freedoms but argued strongly for privacy too; and presidents from the founders through Donald Trump confidently hid behind privacy despite intense public interest in their lives.
Today privacy seems simultaneously under siege and surging and that's doubly dangerous. Too little privacy leaves ordinary people vulnerable to those who deal in and publish secrets. Too much means the famous and infamous can cloak themselves in secrecy and dodge accountability. This very readable account takes us from the very start, when privacy concepts first entered American law and society, to now, when the law allows a Silicon Valley titan to destroy a media site like Gawker out of spite. Muckraker Upton Sinclair, like Nellie Bly before him, pushed the envelope of privacy and propriety and then became a privacy advocate when journalists used the same techniques against him. By the early 2000s we were on our way to today's full-blown crisis in the digital age, worrying that smartphones, webcams, basement publishers, and the forever internet has the ability to erase the right to privacy completely. Take the time to read and think about this.
The battle between an individual's right to privacy and the public's right to know has been fought for centuries. The founders demanded privacy for all the wrong press-quashing reasons. They wanted their dirty secrets kept just that--secret. I did not realize that Hamilton and Jefferson had it out in the public press of their time, and that Jefferson's relationship with his wife's sister, the slave Sally Hemmings, was known in his time. The Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis famously promoted First Amendment freedoms but argued strongly for privacy too; and presidents from the founders through Donald Trump confidently hid behind privacy despite intense public interest in their lives.
Today privacy seems simultaneously under siege and surging and that's doubly dangerous. Too little privacy leaves ordinary people vulnerable to those who deal in and publish secrets. Too much means the famous and infamous can cloak themselves in secrecy and dodge accountability. This very readable account takes us from the very start, when privacy concepts first entered American law and society, to now, when the law allows a Silicon Valley titan to destroy a media site like Gawker out of spite. Muckraker Upton Sinclair, like Nellie Bly before him, pushed the envelope of privacy and propriety and then became a privacy advocate when journalists used the same techniques against him. By the early 2000s we were on our way to today's full-blown crisis in the digital age, worrying that smartphones, webcams, basement publishers, and the forever internet has the ability to erase the right to privacy completely. Take the time to read and think about this.
May 1, 2022
Gajda traces the history of the sometimes contradictory rights of privacy and freedom of the press throughout the history of the United States. The first part of the book focuses on the historic development of the right of privacy and emphasizes how it seemed to be predominantly used by powerful people to conceal aspects of their personal lives that would have made them look really bad if revealed. She talks specifically about President Grover Cleaveland and his amorous affairs, including a possible illegitimate child, that were all kept from the view of the public and press by his assertion of the right to privacy. No such right is provided in the Constitution, but over a century of judicial rulings, and in some cases, legislation, have shaped this right. The later part of the book focuses more on modern day issues such as data privacy rights and social media. It was most interesting to me to see how the right to privacy has changed almost entirely based on how the courts have ruled. They were much more privacy-protecting it seemed around the late 1800s and early 20th Century, but then a shift happens and the freedom of the press triumphs over privacy for several decades. Finally, in the 21st century, we’ve seen courts begin to rule more in favor of privacy again. Gajda doesn’t really explore why this shift happens, but it’s interesting to consider. Although I found it a bit dry and repetitive in places and thought that the historical review could have been abbreviated, I found this book really informative and would recommend.
November 16, 2022
This is a well written and timely book that covers the evolution of the issues of freedom of the press vs personal privacy from the founding of the country to current times. It shows the near total loss of personal privacy by the late 1990s to attempts to regain privacy in the 2000s. The book points out that while Freedom of the Press is important, so is personal privacy. There will always be conflicts between the two freedoms. The first part of the book deals with historical cases and provides the basis for intelligent discussion on privacy vs Freedom of the Press in the digital age.
If you are interested in Freedom of the Press or personal privacy from either side of the issue, this book is a great read.
If you are interested in Freedom of the Press or personal privacy from either side of the issue, this book is a great read.
March 19, 2023
Well-written book on the incredibly complex origins of privacy rights and its fundamental clash with press freedom. It's rich with stories of powerful and ordinary individuals who fell victim to the public's scrutiny at their most vulnerable and how the subsequent legal battles along with the increasingly pervasive modern technology have shaped US jurisprudence on the right to privacy. It's an ongoing story and as Gajda rightly pointed out it has never been linear. This will continue to be an extremely delicate balancing act between two Constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and the public's right to know as well as human dignity and the pursuit of happiness. Not a light reading and the book's packed with legalese but it's a terrific window into this niche topic.
June 21, 2022
Right to privacy. While it is banded about these days, it was not an inherent right from the Constitution. It has evolved over the years, from Zenger and Hamilton to Cleveland and Gawker vs Hulk Hogan. The book focuses on the late 1890/early 1900s, when the legal debate on privacy really took off. From there, it is a shift from right to know to right to privacy to back again. The rise of the internet also changed the game on privacy, especially Section 230, where internet providers were not deemed responsible for content. It is a long standing debate and one that will continue.
Overall a decent read, even if it gets too bogged down in the legalize of court decisions/judgements.
Overall a decent read, even if it gets too bogged down in the legalize of court decisions/judgements.
April 17, 2025
3.5*
NYT Notable Books 2022: 41/100
This one started off a bit weak for me, with a pretty deep dive into the privacy concerns of the Founding Fathers. While I get that this is the base on which modern privacy law is built, it went on a bit too long and went into a bit too much detail for me. However, once Gajda moved away from that, I was all in. Issues of privacy versus freedom of press and speech is an interesting balance, which we're still figuring out. Gajda balanced examples of cases with laws, legal decisions and other information that made for an interesting and really informative book.
NYT Notable Books 2022: 41/100
This one started off a bit weak for me, with a pretty deep dive into the privacy concerns of the Founding Fathers. While I get that this is the base on which modern privacy law is built, it went on a bit too long and went into a bit too much detail for me. However, once Gajda moved away from that, I was all in. Issues of privacy versus freedom of press and speech is an interesting balance, which we're still figuring out. Gajda balanced examples of cases with laws, legal decisions and other information that made for an interesting and really informative book.
February 6, 2023
Super interesting - but you need to know what you're getting yourself into. This isn’t about the history OF privacy itself, which would tend toward a moral/ethical/cultural focus. This is specifically how the US laws around the topic of privacy have changed through time. This leads to discussion of societal values sure (e.g. the interplay between the free press and privacy right; the impacts that technology like the internet has had) but the heart of the book is the laws, court cases, and rulings.
May 23, 2022
After read this book about the Constitutional history, Supreme Court and lower court stories and cases about the freedom of the press, freedom of speech, the right to privacy and the right to be forgotten, I don’t know where the line should be. Gajda does a good job of presenting cases in which you see every pro and con of unlimited freedoms for any right. My only complaint is that it’s a dense book, but it’s one I’ll ponder for awhile.
November 21, 2022
If you are a law student (or law nerd) you will probably enjoy this book. It’s an academic book and I could see it being assigned in a constitutional law class in law schools. It basically provides details US constitutional history on the right to privacy. I was hoping for more in terms of philosophical debate around modern issues (like abortion eg) but there really wasn’t. It was more of a recounting on how US courts have dealt with the issue since America’s founding.
January 24, 2023
Gajda read this one herself for audible. She takes the dry legal and makes it more tangible with stories from history about politicians, Brandeis and Warren, and every day people. Gajda discusses our complicated history with privacy from the late 1800s through 2022 in search of a balance between the right to privacy and the right to know.
March 25, 2023
This is a history-dense overview of the struggle to balance the right to privacy with the right to know. Although 21st century media have complicated the question, I found it interesting that today’s issues are much like the ones our country (courts and laws) have been grappling with since the days of Thomas Jefferson. (Spoiler: there are more sinners than saints in the saga.)
January 11, 2024
It took me several months of off and on reading to get through this book, but I am so, so glad I read it. While case law heavy and dense at points, it’s incredibly well written, with Gajda’s humor and wit cutting through the technical language. I would highly recommend this timely, well researched, and insightful book. (Extra credit for beautiful and well-organized citations!)
September 27, 2022
3.5*
An interesting analysis on the tug of war between the right to know and the right to be let alone.
Everyone is entitled to some form of privacy. Not Kim K, Kanye, or the Royal Family though. I'll continue to eat that shit up.
An interesting analysis on the tug of war between the right to know and the right to be let alone.
Everyone is entitled to some form of privacy. Not Kim K, Kanye, or the Royal Family though. I'll continue to eat that shit up.
December 13, 2022
This book does a great job of explaining the historical trends on privacy vs press freedom in a thought-provoking, comprehensive, and fair-minded manner. Truly one of the best books of the year for me!
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