Privacy in Context
Helen Nissenbaum
This is a modern classic creating a new way of looking at privacy and defining it: "We have a right to privacy, but it is neither a right to control personal information nor a right to have access to this information restricted. Instead, it is a right to live in world in which our expectations about the flow of personal information are [..] met." Using the concepts of 'contextual integrity' and 'informational norms' she manages to clearly solve privacy puzzles that other theories (e.g. once that base themselves on a binary distinction between public and private) can't. The strength of the book is part II (where she looks at the current predominant approaches to privacy) and part III (where she introduces the framework of contextual integrity). Part I (looking at current information technologies and how they threaten privacy) is less relevant as what was cutting edge in 2010 is behind the curve now. I thought the descriptive side of contextual integrity was utterly convincing, more so than the normitive side. Although this is an academic book, it is still quite easy to read most of the time. Essential reading for anybody interested in digital rights.
Book information
Status: Read
| 11-01-2016 | Finished reading |
| 29-12-2015 | Started reading |
| 18-12-2015 | Acquired |
| 05-12-2015 | Added to wishlist |
Description
Privacy is one of the most urgent issues associated with information technology and digital media. This book claims that what people really care about when they complain and protest that privacy has been violated is not the act of sharing information itself - most people understand that this is crucial to social life - but the inappropriate, improper sharing of information. Arguing that privacy concerns should not be limited solely to concern about control over personal information, Helen Nissenbaum counters that information ought to be distributed and protected according to norms governing distinct social contexts - whether it be workplace, health care, schools, or among family and friends. She warns that basic distinctions between public and private, informing many current privacy policies, in fact obscure more than they clarify. In truth, contemporary information systems should alarm us only when they function without regard for social norms and values, and thereby weaken the fabric of social life.