Synopses & Reviews
Hailed as “stunning” (New York Post), “authoritative” (Kirkus Reviews), and “comprehensively researched” (Shelf Awareness), a shocking exposÉ of the widespread abuses of our personal online data by a leading specialist on Web privacy. Social networks are the defining cultural movement of our time, empowering us in constantly evolving ways. We can all now be reporters, alerting the world to breaking news, participating in crowd-sourced scientific research, and helping the police solve crimes. Social networks have even helped to bring down governments, but they have also greatly accelerated the erosion of our personal privacy rights.
As leading expert on social networks and privacy Lori Andrews shows through groundbreaking in-depth research and a host of stunning stories of abuses, as we work and chat and shop and date (and even sometimes have sex) over the Web, we are opening ourselves up to increasingly intrusive, relentless, and anonymous surveillance—by employers, schools, lawyers, the police, and aggressive data aggregator services that compile an astonishing amount of information about us and sell it to any and all takers.
But the legal system cannot be counted on to protect us—in the thousands of cases brought to trial by those whose rights have been violated, judges have most often ruled against them. That is why in addition to providing the best expert advice about protecting ourselves, Andrews proposes that we must all become supporters of a Constitution for the Web, which she has drafted and introduces in this book. Now is the time to join her and take action—the very future of privacy is at stake.
Review
"Unnerving narrative about the misuse of personal online information—without our knowledge—to track, judge and harm us in innumerable aspects of our lives.
"Social-network executives often dismiss online privacy concerns: 'You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it,' said Sun Microsystems’ Scott McNealy. But the constitutional freedoms of millions of people posting personal data on Facebook and other networks are violated routinely, and the law has not kept up with the new technology, writes lawyer Andrews (Institute for Science, Law and Technology/Illinois Institute of Technology; Immunity, 2008, etc.). Noting that social networks make their profits on users’ data, she describes the multibillion-dollar industry of data aggregators who mine online data for the advertising industry, often 'weblining' people, denying them certain opportunities due to observations about their digital selves. Most users have no idea how much information is being collected about them: 'People have a misplaced trust that what they post is private.' The results can be devastating: A Georgia teacher posted a photo showing her drinking a glass of Guinness at an Irish brewery, and she was forced to resign after the photo was e-mailed anonymously to her school superintendent. After seeing a mother’s MySpace page showing her posing provocatively in lingerie, a judge awarded custody of her young children to her husband. 'Virtually every interaction a person has in the offline world can be tainted by social network information,' writes the author, who proposes creating a 'Social Network Constitution' to govern our lives online. Her governing principles would protect against police searches of social networks without probable cause, require social networks to post conspicuous Miranda-like privacy warnings and set rules for the use or collecting of user information.
"Authoritative, important reading for policymakers and an unnerving reminder that anything you post can and will be used against you."
--Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
Hailed as "stunning" (New York Post), "authoritative" (Kirkus Reviews), and "comprehensively researched" (Shelf Awareness), a shocking expose of the widespread abuses of our personal online data by a leading specialist on Web privacy.
Social networks, the defining cultural movement of our time, offer many freedoms. But as we work and shop and date over the Web, we are opening ourselves up to intrusive privacy violations by employers, the police, and aggressive data collection companies that sell our information to any and all takers.
Through groundbreaking research, Andrews reveals how routinely colleges reject applicants due to personal information searches, robbers use vacation postings to target homes for break-ins, and lawyers scour our social media for information to use against us in court. And the legal system isn't protecting us--in the thousands of privacy violations brought to trial, judges often rule against the victims. Providing expert advice and leading the charge to secure our rights, Andrews proposes a Social Network Constitution to protect us all. Now is the time to join her and take action--the very future of privacy is at stake.
Log on to www.loriandrews.com to sign the Constitution for Web Privacy.
Synopsis
Social networks, the defining cultural movement of our time, offer many freedoms. But as we work and shop and date over the Web, we are opening ourselves up to intrusive privacy violations by employers, the police, and aggressive data collection companies that sell our information to any and all takers. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Through groundbreaking research, Andrews reveals how routinely colleges reject applicants due to personal information searches, robbers use vacation postings to target homes for break-ins, and lawyers scour our social media for information to use against us in court. And the legal system isn't protecting usand#8212;in the thousands of privacy violations brought to trial, judges often rule against the victims. Providing expert advice and leading the charge to secure our rights, Andrews proposes a Social Network Constitution to protect us all. Now is the time to join her and take actionand#8212;the very future of privacy is at stake. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Log on to www.loriandrews.com to sign the Constitution for Web Privacy.
About the Author
andlt;bandgt;Lori Andrewsandlt;/bandgt; is the director of the Institute for Science, Law, and Technology at Illinois Institute of Technology. She was named a and#8220;Newsmaker of the Yearand#8221; by the andlt;iandgt;American Bar Association Journalandlt;/iandgt;andnbsp;and has served as a regular advisor to the U.S. government on ethical issues regarding new technologies. Learn more at LoriAndrews.com.