The End of Privacy: The Attack on Personal Rights at Home, at Work, On-Line, and in Court

by Charles J. Sykes

As Justice Louis Brandeis suggested more than a century ago, privacy—the right to be left alone—is the most valued, if not the most celebrated, right enjoyed by Americans. But in the face of computer, video, and audio technology, aggressive and sophisticated marketing databases, state and federal “wars” against crime and terrorism, new laws governing personal behavior, and an increasingly intrusive media, all of us find our personal space and freedom under attack.

In The End of Privacy , Charles Sykes traces the roots of privacy in our nation’s founding and Constitution, and reveals its inexorable erosion in our time. From our homes and offices to the presidency, Sykes defines what we have lost, citing example after example of citizens who have had their conversations monitored, movements surveilled, medical and financial records accessed, sexual preferences revealed, homes invaded, possessions confiscated, and even lives threatened—all in the name of some alleged higher social or governmental good. Sykes concludes by suggesting steps by which we might begin to recover the territory we’ve our fundamental right to our own lives.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sociology

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Amelia O’Halloran · Rating 4 out of 5]

[3.5 / 5] Reallyyyyy fascinating discussion of celebrity, medical privacy, and legal/constitutional bases of autonomy.
Written a year after Bill Clinton / Monica Lewinsky scandal, so was a super engaging look into the era that probably had the most topical conversations around distinctions between the personal and political.
Docking 1 star because of a couple sentences that I thought were just a tad misogynistic

[Shea Mastison · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's surprising, but in a mere decade and a half, this book has become almost quaint in some regards. The technology of surveillance has developed exponentially; undoubtedly because of the merger of multinational communications and networking corporations with our ever expanding and increasingly authoritarian American government.

Sykes begins the book with the lesser known aspects of the surveillance web that we find ourselves mired in today by explaining the ways in which private corporations run roughshod over our individual privacy; collecting every bit of data on us that comes their way. He then goes on to explain how the government has used the information collected by the companies (occasionally against their will) in order to more closely monitor citizens.

Throughout the book, I was occasionally caught off-guard by the moral puritanism of Sykes. I mean no insult, but his mores are definitely that of a much older era. His criticisms of our modern exhibitionist culture aren't entirely incorrect; but even strippers and streakers deserve their moments of privacy--so needless to say, I'm not entirely convinced that traditionally private matters need to go back to their repressed, closeted spaces in order for us to attain a reasonable amount of privacy.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

When some nut declares something dead, it is probably because he is actually in badly need of attention. This is the case of Charles J Sykes.