Book Review on Personal, Consumer, Mobile Phone, and Internet Privacy Issues
People have been talking about the Internet and online privacy for quite some time, since I have used it. I can remember that some people discussed it even in 1993, and by 1996 some people were alarmed, and with good reason. Back then it was clear that this would become a big problem, especially as public records were being brought online. So the whole concept of privacy, well, it went out the window from there.
Today, we complain about social media and privacy, as well as companies that disclose information, but it is not as if people do not freely give up their rights to privacy often enough of their own free will, yes, in return. of some online service or freebie. To better understand all of this, you may need some background on the subject, how we got here today, and the reality that we never had complete guaranteed privacy, online the illusion of such.
Now I would certainly like to recommend you a very good book on this subject if you want to get a little history. In this way, when you discuss this topic, you will understand how we got here today. The name of the book that I would like to recommend is:
“Online Privacy: The Politics of Wiretapping and Encryption”, by Whitfield Diffie and Susan Landau, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, (1999), pp. 364, ISBN: 0-262-04167-7.
You will learn the arguments of both sides, the real issues of national security, and what goes on behind the scenes. And from there, you can easily imagine what happens today. You don’t have to think hard to see it, or read a lot to see where this all goes from here. Consider all of this.
++ I also recommend reading To bring you up to speed are these two articles recently in the Wall Street Journal, viz;
- Wall Street Journal Article – “At the forefront of the Web, anonymity in name only”, which was written by Emily Steel and Julia Angwin.
- “Google Agonizes on Privacy as Ad World Vaults Ahead” Wall Street Journal, August 10, 2010 – by Jessica E. Vascellaro.
- “The great debate on privacy”, which was discussed by Jim Harper of the Cato Institute, opposite Nicholas Carr, author of “The Swallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains,” which appeared in the Saturday and Sunday edition of the WSJ August 7-8, 2010 .