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The Fight for Privacy: Protecting Dignity, Identity, and Love in the Digital Age
Privacy is disappearing. From our sex lives to our workout routines, the details of our lives once relegated to pen and paper have joined the slipstream of new technology. As a MacArthur fellow and distinguished professor of law at the University of Virginia, acclaimed civil rights advocate Danielle Citron has spent decades working with lawmakers and stakeholders across the globe to protect what she calls intimate privacy—encompassing our bodies, health, gender, and relationships. When intimate privacy becomes data, corporations know exactly when to flash that ad for a new drug or pregnancy test. Social and political forces know how to manipulate what you think and who you trust, leveraging sensitive secrets and deepfake videos to ruin or silence opponents. And as new technologies invite new violations, people have power over one another like never before, from revenge porn to blackmail, attaching life-altering risks to growing up, dating online, or falling in love.
A masterful new look at privacy in the twenty-first century, The Fight for Privacy takes the focus off Silicon Valley moguls to investigate the price we pay as technology migrates deeper into every aspect of our lives: entering our bedrooms and our bathrooms and our midnight texts; our relationships with friends, family, lovers, and kids; and even our relationship with ourselves.
Drawing on in-depth interviews with victims, activists, and advocates, Citron brings this headline issue home for readers by weaving together visceral stories about the countless ways that corporate and individual violators exploit privacy loopholes. Exploring why the law has struggled to keep up, she reveals how our current system leaves victims—particularly women, LGBTQ+ people, and marginalized groups—shamed and powerless while perpetrators profit, warping cultural norms around the world.
Yet there is a solution to our toxic relationship with technology and privacy: fighting for intimate privacy as a civil right. Collectively, Citron argues, citizens, lawmakers, and corporations have the power to create a new reality where privacy is valued and people are protected as they embrace what technology offers. Introducing readers to the trailblazing work of advocates today, Citron urges readers to join the fight. Your intimate life shouldn’t be traded for profit or wielded against you for power: it belongs to you. With Citron as our guide, we can take back control of our data and build a better future for the next, ever more digital, generation.
A masterful new look at privacy in the twenty-first century, The Fight for Privacy takes the focus off Silicon Valley moguls to investigate the price we pay as technology migrates deeper into every aspect of our lives: entering our bedrooms and our bathrooms and our midnight texts; our relationships with friends, family, lovers, and kids; and even our relationship with ourselves.
Drawing on in-depth interviews with victims, activists, and advocates, Citron brings this headline issue home for readers by weaving together visceral stories about the countless ways that corporate and individual violators exploit privacy loopholes. Exploring why the law has struggled to keep up, she reveals how our current system leaves victims—particularly women, LGBTQ+ people, and marginalized groups—shamed and powerless while perpetrators profit, warping cultural norms around the world.
Yet there is a solution to our toxic relationship with technology and privacy: fighting for intimate privacy as a civil right. Collectively, Citron argues, citizens, lawmakers, and corporations have the power to create a new reality where privacy is valued and people are protected as they embrace what technology offers. Introducing readers to the trailblazing work of advocates today, Citron urges readers to join the fight. Your intimate life shouldn’t be traded for profit or wielded against you for power: it belongs to you. With Citron as our guide, we can take back control of our data and build a better future for the next, ever more digital, generation.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published October 4, 2022
82 people are currently reading
2477 people want to read
About the author
Danielle Keats Citron
3 books25 followersDanielle Keats Citron is Lois K. Macht Research Professor of Law at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
July 19, 2023
I am giving it a 5, and is an exception on my rating scale. My 5s are usually awarded to books I potentially will re-read. This one, I will not. So, why 5?
This is because the book touches on a very significant matter today. I believe that it has to be read by everyone regardless of gender, age, country or personal circumstance, if I may add.
The book focuses on our 'Right to Intimate Privacy' - a right that is so essential in our digitally advancing world yet is a right that remains unprotected and exploited. The book educates readers on its importance, what threatens it, and how and what is being done to upheld it. I also learned more about this right and the book helped me understand its importance and how vulnerable we are and how susceptible we are to exploitation and manipulation because of our data.
It can be quite a long read, in my opinion. Nevertheless, the topic is so contemporary, I am sure that readers will enjoy the interesting facts and scary privacy stories the book has. I just might subcategorize this as thriller or suspense.
This is because the book touches on a very significant matter today. I believe that it has to be read by everyone regardless of gender, age, country or personal circumstance, if I may add.
The book focuses on our 'Right to Intimate Privacy' - a right that is so essential in our digitally advancing world yet is a right that remains unprotected and exploited. The book educates readers on its importance, what threatens it, and how and what is being done to upheld it. I also learned more about this right and the book helped me understand its importance and how vulnerable we are and how susceptible we are to exploitation and manipulation because of our data.
It can be quite a long read, in my opinion. Nevertheless, the topic is so contemporary, I am sure that readers will enjoy the interesting facts and scary privacy stories the book has. I just might subcategorize this as thriller or suspense.
October 4, 2022
Shout out to CBC Radio’s Spark for their episode on protecting our intimate data, which interviewed Danielle Keats Citron. That’s how I learned about The Fight for Privacy just ahead of its release date and managed to snag an eARC courtesy of NetGalley and W.W. Norton Company.
This book is primarily US-focused, which probably shouldn’t be surprising. That being said, Citron references South Korean examples quite a bit, along with a smattering of other countries, particularly Europe. That’s one of the big takeaways from this book: the fight for privacy is global, because the internet is global; however, American laws and regulations have an outsize effect. Many websites that host things like nonconsensual porn do so in the United States because of things like the Communications Decency Act’s protection from liability. Similarly, Citron explores how some corporations like Facebook and Google end up operating with one regime for their American customers and another for their European customers (who are protected under the GDPR by stricter privacy laws).
Citron first establishes what constitutes intimate privacy and why American law is so woefully inadequate at protecting it. She outlines who is most vulnerable to violations of intimate privacy (three guesses—yep, marginalized people, especially women, and especially racialized women!). Finally, she sets forth specific and attainable solutions in both law and the corporate world. She is able to do this because she knows what she’s talking about—Citron has literally written the book on online abuse, along with this book, and co-founded initiatives dedicated to fighting back against intimate privacy violations. She speaks with the expertise of a law professor yet is able to explain everything to the reader in plain English—no mean feat!
I’m not really one to advocate for incremental change—more and more, I feel like burning the whole system down and starting over, and when politicians instead seem to compromise their radical ideals in favour of working within a system or status quo, I am often disappointed. Nevertheless, Citron makes some really good arguments here for the value of incremental change within the existing legal and regulatory frameworks that corporations use to manage our personal data. In one chapter, she describes sitting down with Kamala Harris and her team back when Harris was the Attorney General of California. As Citron describes working with the now–Vice President, I suddenly understood how people like Harris can go into politics in the hopes of making a real difference. It’s almost enough to make me optimistic again!
Anyway, my point is that The Fight for Privacy walks a fine line. Citron is pragmatic: you aren’t going to throw away your phone and go live off the grid, and that is literally the only way to avoid allowing companies to collect your personal data. Citron is also not radical: according to her, the solution is not to dismantle capitalism per se, not to replace these corporations with a different type of entity, but simply to offer them market-based and political incentives to be better. I’m skeptical of that approach, of course, but I can see where she’s coming from. This is not a revolutionary book, but it is a very practical one, and I think there is real need for that.
At times, however, I found myself wondering who needs this book—its target audience wanders a little. I thought about my dad, who is a lawyer and might enjoy this book, though I wondered if it would be technical enough for him. As I mentioned earlier, it’s accessible enough for a layperson, but at times it does get bogged down in discussions of regulatory technicalities. On the other hand, people involved in regulating tech companies would probably want something a little more focused. In trying to be too many things, The Fight for Privacy ends up feeling scattered and unfocused. If I could change one thing, it would be to cut down on the exhaustive examples Citron offers up in chapter after chapter. A little more editing, a little less rock and roll.
This book is also, I need to be frank, somewhat disheartening. To be fair, Citron does end on a note of hope by describing successes she has witnessed in recent years. Unfortunately, her exhaustive documentation of the not-so-successful situations left me feeling very discouraged as I read. It is so challenging to navigate our digital world, because so much of our interaction with corporations and governments and the corresponding exchange of data exists beyond our direct control. These issues came up in my English class a few weeks ago, and we talked about how hard it is to understand or have any concept of how companies are using our data.
The issue feels, at times, insurmountable. But I will give The Fight for Privacy this: if it is not clear in its audience, it is certainly clear in its purpose. It is a manifesto, a clarion call for stronger privacy protections, data use transparency, and a civil right to privacy. Citron’s presentation is level-headed, thoughtful, measured—she has worked hard to come to the table with actual proposals, backed by her years of experience. I was disheartened by this book and buoyed at the same time! Do these feelings cancel each other out? I’m not sure. All I really know is that if, like me, you are concerned about how corporations and governments are using the increasingly complex web of data available to be harvested from each and every one of us … you would probably get something out of reading this book.
Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter.
This book is primarily US-focused, which probably shouldn’t be surprising. That being said, Citron references South Korean examples quite a bit, along with a smattering of other countries, particularly Europe. That’s one of the big takeaways from this book: the fight for privacy is global, because the internet is global; however, American laws and regulations have an outsize effect. Many websites that host things like nonconsensual porn do so in the United States because of things like the Communications Decency Act’s protection from liability. Similarly, Citron explores how some corporations like Facebook and Google end up operating with one regime for their American customers and another for their European customers (who are protected under the GDPR by stricter privacy laws).
Citron first establishes what constitutes intimate privacy and why American law is so woefully inadequate at protecting it. She outlines who is most vulnerable to violations of intimate privacy (three guesses—yep, marginalized people, especially women, and especially racialized women!). Finally, she sets forth specific and attainable solutions in both law and the corporate world. She is able to do this because she knows what she’s talking about—Citron has literally written the book on online abuse, along with this book, and co-founded initiatives dedicated to fighting back against intimate privacy violations. She speaks with the expertise of a law professor yet is able to explain everything to the reader in plain English—no mean feat!
I’m not really one to advocate for incremental change—more and more, I feel like burning the whole system down and starting over, and when politicians instead seem to compromise their radical ideals in favour of working within a system or status quo, I am often disappointed. Nevertheless, Citron makes some really good arguments here for the value of incremental change within the existing legal and regulatory frameworks that corporations use to manage our personal data. In one chapter, she describes sitting down with Kamala Harris and her team back when Harris was the Attorney General of California. As Citron describes working with the now–Vice President, I suddenly understood how people like Harris can go into politics in the hopes of making a real difference. It’s almost enough to make me optimistic again!
Anyway, my point is that The Fight for Privacy walks a fine line. Citron is pragmatic: you aren’t going to throw away your phone and go live off the grid, and that is literally the only way to avoid allowing companies to collect your personal data. Citron is also not radical: according to her, the solution is not to dismantle capitalism per se, not to replace these corporations with a different type of entity, but simply to offer them market-based and political incentives to be better. I’m skeptical of that approach, of course, but I can see where she’s coming from. This is not a revolutionary book, but it is a very practical one, and I think there is real need for that.
At times, however, I found myself wondering who needs this book—its target audience wanders a little. I thought about my dad, who is a lawyer and might enjoy this book, though I wondered if it would be technical enough for him. As I mentioned earlier, it’s accessible enough for a layperson, but at times it does get bogged down in discussions of regulatory technicalities. On the other hand, people involved in regulating tech companies would probably want something a little more focused. In trying to be too many things, The Fight for Privacy ends up feeling scattered and unfocused. If I could change one thing, it would be to cut down on the exhaustive examples Citron offers up in chapter after chapter. A little more editing, a little less rock and roll.
This book is also, I need to be frank, somewhat disheartening. To be fair, Citron does end on a note of hope by describing successes she has witnessed in recent years. Unfortunately, her exhaustive documentation of the not-so-successful situations left me feeling very discouraged as I read. It is so challenging to navigate our digital world, because so much of our interaction with corporations and governments and the corresponding exchange of data exists beyond our direct control. These issues came up in my English class a few weeks ago, and we talked about how hard it is to understand or have any concept of how companies are using our data.
The issue feels, at times, insurmountable. But I will give The Fight for Privacy this: if it is not clear in its audience, it is certainly clear in its purpose. It is a manifesto, a clarion call for stronger privacy protections, data use transparency, and a civil right to privacy. Citron’s presentation is level-headed, thoughtful, measured—she has worked hard to come to the table with actual proposals, backed by her years of experience. I was disheartened by this book and buoyed at the same time! Do these feelings cancel each other out? I’m not sure. All I really know is that if, like me, you are concerned about how corporations and governments are using the increasingly complex web of data available to be harvested from each and every one of us … you would probably get something out of reading this book.
Originally posted on Kara.Reviews, where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter.
January 27, 2024
SO IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT, but I’m not convinced this book is the best way to raise awareness. Seeing that that wasn’t her primary aim though, I thought it did a bang-up job.
Citron’s work is about protecting intimate privacy in the digital age (aka, for example, we should be able to punish people and platforms who post & host non-consensual imagery of others—mostly sex tapes, nudes, videos of sexual assault/rape, etc). The world is disgusting, and there are a crap ton of people (*cough cough, men*) who extort others by threatening to distribute or actually distributing nude photos & videos of others without their consent. To families, bosses, religious communities, you name it. Very timely issue if you’ve read about the AI-created explicit images of Taylor Swift posted yesterday.
Anyways, this book is about the issue, the economic & social reasons it exists, and the potential solutions. The solutions are definitely the primary player in this book & take up the most air space. It gets pretty policy heavy at the end, and definitely written like a lawyer (which is sometimes a great thing, sometimes just not so much).
Overall, writing 3/5 but topic importance 5/5 so 4 stars.
Citron’s work is about protecting intimate privacy in the digital age (aka, for example, we should be able to punish people and platforms who post & host non-consensual imagery of others—mostly sex tapes, nudes, videos of sexual assault/rape, etc). The world is disgusting, and there are a crap ton of people (*cough cough, men*) who extort others by threatening to distribute or actually distributing nude photos & videos of others without their consent. To families, bosses, religious communities, you name it. Very timely issue if you’ve read about the AI-created explicit images of Taylor Swift posted yesterday.
Anyways, this book is about the issue, the economic & social reasons it exists, and the potential solutions. The solutions are definitely the primary player in this book & take up the most air space. It gets pretty policy heavy at the end, and definitely written like a lawyer (which is sometimes a great thing, sometimes just not so much).
Overall, writing 3/5 but topic importance 5/5 so 4 stars.
April 4, 2023
A must read
August 14, 2023
The fact that it took me literally 7 months to finish this book is not a reflection of the quality of the book but more of me refusing to do any type of prep work for my thesis.
All in all I think this book changed the way I interact with the internet and devices. It's terrifying. Reinforced my decision to keep good reads as my primary social media.
All in all I think this book changed the way I interact with the internet and devices. It's terrifying. Reinforced my decision to keep good reads as my primary social media.
March 27, 2023
Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before…one of the best nonfiction books I’ve read in a while.
This book is eye opening and will freak you out, but it is so good and I think everyone should read it. Citron does a couple of things really well. She doesn’t try to make people feel bad for being on apps or websites, instead places blame where blame is due (the mega corporations that sell our data). The best part of the book is that she refocuses who the biggest victims of privacy violations are: women and minority groups. Non-consensual porn is a big focus of this book, and it is something that everyone (regardless of your opinions of pornography) can agree is atrocious and should be stopped, and victims should be treated better. Instead of simply keeping the privacy conversation in the legal realm, Citron reframed the issue to be a civil rights issue.
As worried as you are for the future by the end of the book, Citron never gives into despair, and instead shows us how we have made progress and we can continue to make progress.
Truly a fantastic book, one that everyone should read.
This book is eye opening and will freak you out, but it is so good and I think everyone should read it. Citron does a couple of things really well. She doesn’t try to make people feel bad for being on apps or websites, instead places blame where blame is due (the mega corporations that sell our data). The best part of the book is that she refocuses who the biggest victims of privacy violations are: women and minority groups. Non-consensual porn is a big focus of this book, and it is something that everyone (regardless of your opinions of pornography) can agree is atrocious and should be stopped, and victims should be treated better. Instead of simply keeping the privacy conversation in the legal realm, Citron reframed the issue to be a civil rights issue.
As worried as you are for the future by the end of the book, Citron never gives into despair, and instead shows us how we have made progress and we can continue to make progress.
Truly a fantastic book, one that everyone should read.
December 5, 2022
Comprehensive book about the huge gaps in legislation and corporate policies governing intimate privacy. The book goes into quite a lot of detail about legal intricacies, while remaining accessible to a general audience. The book also effectively connects the right to privacy to equality issues, and outlines how women and people of colour are so much more vulnerable to ongoing assaults on intimate privacy and sexual abuse.
The book is US-centric, although it features examples from Europe and Asia as well. My main takeaway is that American legislation has far-reaching effects beyond its borders given how many social media platforms are hosted in the U.S. The world needs the U.S. to take a leading role in legislating intimate privacy. In the meantime, Europe is making important strides towards protecting privacy through the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and demonstrates that legislation can be a powerful tool to force corporations to protect human rights.
The writing is effective and precise. However, the book is sometimes repetitive and could be shortened for a more streamlined read.
The book is US-centric, although it features examples from Europe and Asia as well. My main takeaway is that American legislation has far-reaching effects beyond its borders given how many social media platforms are hosted in the U.S. The world needs the U.S. to take a leading role in legislating intimate privacy. In the meantime, Europe is making important strides towards protecting privacy through the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and demonstrates that legislation can be a powerful tool to force corporations to protect human rights.
The writing is effective and precise. However, the book is sometimes repetitive and could be shortened for a more streamlined read.
August 14, 2023
the first half i honestly couldn’t put down; i feel like before reading this i had a “eh yeah these companies and the government have all my data but no one really cares or will ever do anything with it,” but now i understand that it’s actually kind of terrifying. she uses a lot of real stories and anecdotes about cases she has seen and their outcomes. the second half of the book was moreso her proposal of how the US law should be reformed, still interesting to think about.
November 14, 2022
So impressively readable for an academic book! And really provides clear outline of how to think about privacy as an equality/civil rights issue + some very concrete barriers to seeking justice that currently exist for victims of intimate privacy violations. Learned a lot!!
May 20, 2023
informative yas! no more cookies for me!
May 14, 2024
Informative about the current landscape of data privacy especially in regards to the digital dating scene. Would recommend this book to those interested in the subject!
August 5, 2024
Thoughtful and compelling. A scholar deserving of more recognition!!!
March 23, 2023
Woah! This book was shocking and eye opening to the ways in which our privacy is bought and sold and shared without our consent
February 27, 2025
Everyone should read this book.
August 5, 2023
It took me some effort to finish it as I felt the book was very repetitive and probably the author could have developed her points in half the number of pages.
I normally like when the authors read their books but also in this case I felt the tone was very monotone which made listening a bit boring.
The book itself is centered on the harms to intimate privacy and very much inclined to the harms to women in particular. I felt the author expanded too much on developing these harms (which are things most of us already know) and did not invest sufficient time on what needs to be done to stop the missmanagement of personal information. She does devote the last chapters to it but mainly describing things that are already in place (and advertising her own achievements )but lacking new ideas or proposals.
I normally like when the authors read their books but also in this case I felt the tone was very monotone which made listening a bit boring.
The book itself is centered on the harms to intimate privacy and very much inclined to the harms to women in particular. I felt the author expanded too much on developing these harms (which are things most of us already know) and did not invest sufficient time on what needs to be done to stop the missmanagement of personal information. She does devote the last chapters to it but mainly describing things that are already in place (and advertising her own achievements )but lacking new ideas or proposals.
September 23, 2023
Engaging and surprising. The author makes a convincing case for intimate privacy rights online and how the law can be reformed. It is carefully considered.
May 18, 2025
I picked up The Fight for Privacy after attending an online discussion on AI and privacy, and I’m so glad I did.
This book dives into intimate data: our bodies, faces, relationships. And asks: who’s collecting it, who’s being hurt, and who’s profiting? Citron reveals how this often disproportionately affects women, marginalized communities, and vulnerable groups. She traces the gaps in legal protections, exposes the role of tech companies and bad actors, and makes a powerful case for why privacy should be treated as a civil right.
It’s eye-opening, frustrating, and empowering all at once.
Citron makes it clear: privacy is dignity. We can’t afford to stay silent. We need to speak up, challenge harmful systems, and demand better laws and design that protect us all.
This book dives into intimate data: our bodies, faces, relationships. And asks: who’s collecting it, who’s being hurt, and who’s profiting? Citron reveals how this often disproportionately affects women, marginalized communities, and vulnerable groups. She traces the gaps in legal protections, exposes the role of tech companies and bad actors, and makes a powerful case for why privacy should be treated as a civil right.
It’s eye-opening, frustrating, and empowering all at once.
Citron makes it clear: privacy is dignity. We can’t afford to stay silent. We need to speak up, challenge harmful systems, and demand better laws and design that protect us all.
August 7, 2022
#TheFightforPrivacy is yet another powerful work that reveals the myriad ways that corporations and governments around the globe have and continue to exploit individuals right to privacy (or lack thereof).
For those familiar with the privacy realm and who frequently read nonfiction works on privacy, the introduction is no different than any other. What sets #TheFightforPrivacy apart from similar works released over the last couple of years is that the author homes in on how a lack of intimate privacy rights hurt women across the world, cyber-sex crimes, the discriminatory impact on various minority groups, and a proposal for treating “privacy” as a civil right in the U.S.
Given how quickly this space moves, the book is about as current as you can get in terms of news, research, and statistics, without creating a digital copy that updates itself on a daily basis. Already, some of the material requires edits due to the political shifts occurring this summer.
For those who are not familiar with the privacy landscape, I highly recommend you start brushing up. Some of the real life examples provided in the text are truly astounding. Though I do not recommend it for every topic in privacy, I strongly suggest it for those who are interested in cybercrimes that involve women and sextortion since this is primarily what the book covers.
Thank you to #NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company for providing me an advance copy of Danielle Keats Citron’s nonfiction novel, #TheFightforPrivacy, in exchange for an honest review.
For those familiar with the privacy realm and who frequently read nonfiction works on privacy, the introduction is no different than any other. What sets #TheFightforPrivacy apart from similar works released over the last couple of years is that the author homes in on how a lack of intimate privacy rights hurt women across the world, cyber-sex crimes, the discriminatory impact on various minority groups, and a proposal for treating “privacy” as a civil right in the U.S.
Given how quickly this space moves, the book is about as current as you can get in terms of news, research, and statistics, without creating a digital copy that updates itself on a daily basis. Already, some of the material requires edits due to the political shifts occurring this summer.
For those who are not familiar with the privacy landscape, I highly recommend you start brushing up. Some of the real life examples provided in the text are truly astounding. Though I do not recommend it for every topic in privacy, I strongly suggest it for those who are interested in cybercrimes that involve women and sextortion since this is primarily what the book covers.
Thank you to #NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company for providing me an advance copy of Danielle Keats Citron’s nonfiction novel, #TheFightforPrivacy, in exchange for an honest review.
June 12, 2022
The Fight for Privacy is the book we need in 2022: a road map for understanding and defending your right to privacy in the twenty-first century. Danielle Keats Citron has compiled extensive research and stories (and cited sources on every one!) on intimate privacy and how it is being violated with and without our knowledge.
Fight is divided into two halves; the first focuses on stories of victims, so many of which are equal parts heart wrenching and terrifying. The second half offers solutions for lawmakers and companies, often around Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The book concludes with a list of tips that are appropriate for the layperson, which is a tremendously helpful resource I would recommend sharing with everyone you know.
This is a great primer on a legally complicated issue that impacts all of us. My singular disappointment is that the work may be a bit too dense for some of the people who would benefit the most from reading it: older teens and young adults, as well as their parents. As the stories in the first half of the book show, this issue impacts so many people, especially women and marginalized groups – and this is the kind of information they really need.
My thanks to W. W. Norton & Company, Danielle Keats Citron, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Fight is divided into two halves; the first focuses on stories of victims, so many of which are equal parts heart wrenching and terrifying. The second half offers solutions for lawmakers and companies, often around Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The book concludes with a list of tips that are appropriate for the layperson, which is a tremendously helpful resource I would recommend sharing with everyone you know.
This is a great primer on a legally complicated issue that impacts all of us. My singular disappointment is that the work may be a bit too dense for some of the people who would benefit the most from reading it: older teens and young adults, as well as their parents. As the stories in the first half of the book show, this issue impacts so many people, especially women and marginalized groups – and this is the kind of information they really need.
My thanks to W. W. Norton & Company, Danielle Keats Citron, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
July 29, 2022
ARC provided by NetGalley:
Lots of research went into this book, and it's a great way to see the state of personal privacy in the digital age. Corporations don't even have to steal our data, it's all out there for them to take. There have been some like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren who have talked about being able to change this, but unless there are more people advocating for changes, it is unlikely to happen because of corporate greed.
The book is easily read and understandable, and it's worth reading to understand where we are at with privacy and our digital selves. One of the sections even focuses on women's health and the privacy or inherent lack of privacy when it comes to the period tracking apps, which has become even more important since the Dobbs decision back in June 2022.
It's also not lost on me that I am posting this review on a company site that is owned by Amazon.
Lots of research went into this book, and it's a great way to see the state of personal privacy in the digital age. Corporations don't even have to steal our data, it's all out there for them to take. There have been some like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren who have talked about being able to change this, but unless there are more people advocating for changes, it is unlikely to happen because of corporate greed.
The book is easily read and understandable, and it's worth reading to understand where we are at with privacy and our digital selves. One of the sections even focuses on women's health and the privacy or inherent lack of privacy when it comes to the period tracking apps, which has become even more important since the Dobbs decision back in June 2022.
It's also not lost on me that I am posting this review on a company site that is owned by Amazon.
October 25, 2024
Bra bok med fokus på «intimt» personvern knyttet til bilder av kroppen etc. Bra gjennomgang, men litt for mye prat om amerikanske delstatslover, for min del. Bokens målgruppe er tydeligvis amerikanere.
November 25, 2022
“Imagine if surgeons performed operations not only to heal us but to gather information about our organs so they could sell the information to life insurance companies. What if accountants gave us tax advice not only to help us deal with authorities but to obtain our financial information to share with data brokers; or if storage companies took an inventory of our belongings not only to prevent theft but also to sell that itemized list to advertisers?”
Horrifying exploration of how advertisers buy our personal data from app owners and social media firms. Some of the sharing is outrageous, like data from a period app being shared with anyone who asked. While we tell ourselves that it doesn’t matter if an app saves our grocery orders or chat history, the sheer volume of data consolidated as part as advertising means even data without your identity can be easily matched to basic facts a company already knows.
Cameos by electeds fighting for us, current Vice President Kamala Harris and former State Assemblyman Mike Gatto, make the narrative a little less maddening. The chapters on people illegally obtaining nude photos and sharing without consent sent my blood pressure sky high.
Horrifying exploration of how advertisers buy our personal data from app owners and social media firms. Some of the sharing is outrageous, like data from a period app being shared with anyone who asked. While we tell ourselves that it doesn’t matter if an app saves our grocery orders or chat history, the sheer volume of data consolidated as part as advertising means even data without your identity can be easily matched to basic facts a company already knows.
Cameos by electeds fighting for us, current Vice President Kamala Harris and former State Assemblyman Mike Gatto, make the narrative a little less maddening. The chapters on people illegally obtaining nude photos and sharing without consent sent my blood pressure sky high.
December 8, 2022
Separating "intimate information" from general notions of privacy is a useful place to begin with policy reforms. It's an area you'd think we could agree on, and yet regulation has been slow to come, if at all.
As technology now reaches into every aspect of our lives, everyone has become vulnerable to the invasion of intimate privacy. And yet we're living in the past, taking an "it won't happen to me" approach, until of course, it does.
This book is filled with anecdotes of why everyone ought to start paying attention to this issue, and stop accepting the general loss of privacy as part & parcel of the digital era. Citron includes many terrifying and tragic anecdotes of people -- just like you and I -- who to no fault of their own were blackmailed or worse with intimate images and information. And the perpetrators all too often get away with impunity.
We can't accept intimate privacy invasions as the new norm. This book will prove it to you. Great for those interested in tech law & policy and ethics, and anyone who doesn't want their nudes (or their partners, kids, friends, etc. etc.) shared online without consent.
As technology now reaches into every aspect of our lives, everyone has become vulnerable to the invasion of intimate privacy. And yet we're living in the past, taking an "it won't happen to me" approach, until of course, it does.
This book is filled with anecdotes of why everyone ought to start paying attention to this issue, and stop accepting the general loss of privacy as part & parcel of the digital era. Citron includes many terrifying and tragic anecdotes of people -- just like you and I -- who to no fault of their own were blackmailed or worse with intimate images and information. And the perpetrators all too often get away with impunity.
We can't accept intimate privacy invasions as the new norm. This book will prove it to you. Great for those interested in tech law & policy and ethics, and anyone who doesn't want their nudes (or their partners, kids, friends, etc. etc.) shared online without consent.
September 1, 2023
Personal privacy is becoming harder and harder to protect as digital influences become more and more prevalent. And while there are some wonderful things about being so globally connected, there is a very insidious fact that while we have constant access to information, sometimes people we don't want have equal access to us.
The Fight for Privacy touches on multiple types of privacy invasions, but it does heavily focus on sexual crimes (so called "revenge porn," hidden cameras, sextortion, etc.) and just how woefully inadequate many laws worldwide are for protecting against it.
And important book to read, as these issues will only become more pertinent as we become more and more digital.
The Fight for Privacy touches on multiple types of privacy invasions, but it does heavily focus on sexual crimes (so called "revenge porn," hidden cameras, sextortion, etc.) and just how woefully inadequate many laws worldwide are for protecting against it.
And important book to read, as these issues will only become more pertinent as we become more and more digital.
January 15, 2024
Bought this one at Exile in Bookville in Chicago on a whim since it caught my eye.
This book extensively covers the various ways in which individuals, corporations, and governments exploit loopholes in privacy laws for their personal or monetary gain. Citron outlines how it is that laws, as they are currently written, fail to protect us from intimate privacy, and how they should be written instead to be more consent-focused and privacy-centric. She also gives a few examples of how individuals and grassroots movements have raised awareness and effected positive changes towards privacy law.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a modern survey on the state of intimate privacy.
This book extensively covers the various ways in which individuals, corporations, and governments exploit loopholes in privacy laws for their personal or monetary gain. Citron outlines how it is that laws, as they are currently written, fail to protect us from intimate privacy, and how they should be written instead to be more consent-focused and privacy-centric. She also gives a few examples of how individuals and grassroots movements have raised awareness and effected positive changes towards privacy law.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a modern survey on the state of intimate privacy.
October 9, 2022
I have so much respect for the author - and the NCII problem is so important and deserves much more attention than it gets. Serious props for taking this on and highlighting an unfortunately overlooked horror for many people.
But this book also seems to lever “NCII is awful and here are some great legal frameworks for making the problem a bit less bad” into “here’s how we solve all problems in trust and safety.” This jump doesn’t make sense to me, and I’m worried that the main argument that many readers take away is that the worst of the worst on the internet needs the same privacy/moderation rules as standard-issue personalization?
But this book also seems to lever “NCII is awful and here are some great legal frameworks for making the problem a bit less bad” into “here’s how we solve all problems in trust and safety.” This jump doesn’t make sense to me, and I’m worried that the main argument that many readers take away is that the worst of the worst on the internet needs the same privacy/moderation rules as standard-issue personalization?
July 2, 2024
The title is misleading. It is mostly a horror show of digital privacy violations, in the US and abroad. The US gets most of the blame, for having shitty privacy laws that allow platforms to avoid due diligence in policing the online behavior. The last two or three chapters address what needs to happen to make daily life safer - mostly legislative actions. There is an appendix with a very good list of things that ordinary citizens can do to TRY to increase their privacy online, but the author points out repeatedly that it is a losing battle. Even if you are doing everything you can to stay safe online, there are plenty of ways that your data, image, and identify can be exploited.
March 6, 2025
I read over half of this book and then decided to set it down. The fight for digital privacy is real, and one that must be fought. If you're using a free app or platform like Facebook or LinkedIn, then you are the product. When we post to those "free" platforms we're willing giving them our data, our content. That content is theirs now, and they can train AI on it, sell it to marketers, sell it to any third party that's willing to pay a little money for it. Read the Terms of Service, read the Third Party data sharing agreements - the platforms hold all the cards.
Good book, important content and thank you Danielle Keats Citron for all your important work in this space!
Good book, important content and thank you Danielle Keats Citron for all your important work in this space!
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January 24, 2023“Consider the ethics of your digital engagement. Ask yourself if you really want to click on sites known for sharing nonconsensual intimate images. Those sites don't deserve your attention.
Nor do links that someone sends you that suggests that you are looking or watching something that someone did not want others to see or hear. Ethical consumption matters because it conveys to producers of content that they have an audience. Don't give them that impression.”
I have 0 faith in tech companies but I thought this was meaningful advice for the individual when engaging with online content
Nor do links that someone sends you that suggests that you are looking or watching something that someone did not want others to see or hear. Ethical consumption matters because it conveys to producers of content that they have an audience. Don't give them that impression.”
I have 0 faith in tech companies but I thought this was meaningful advice for the individual when engaging with online content
November 13, 2022
Citron is an expert and sheds light on important civil rights issues that are impacted by privacy violations. She addresses many of the counterarguments used against comprehensive legal reform that would recognize intimate privacy as a fundamental right. The sections about section 230 and the first amendment were especially interesting to me. I appreciated her perspective and am inspired to get more involved in digital civil liberties activism!
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