The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the Information Age

How many times have we heard the expression that "you are what you eat"? But what if that were extended to what you drive, what you read, where you work, what you spend, and much more. What if this information was being gathered by unknown people for uncertain purposes in digital format, would this "digital dossier", which might be used to make decisions about you, be accurate? Well they do exist and are assembled and used by people and groups that you may not even know about, even though the use may have a direct impact on your life. So you might then ask if existing legal frameworks provide any protection or recourse to keep a handle on the information? In The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the Information Age (2004, New York University Press, 282 Pages, ISBN 0814798462), George Washington University Law Professor and privacy law expert Daniel J. Solove weaves history, legal precedents, changes in society/technology, and discussions of practical business/marketing into a narrative that is not only easy to read and understand, but one that must be read by anybody who wants to discuss and understand privacy in a meaningful way. Solove, who also co-authored Information Privacy Law in 2003, starts out by laying the groundwork for the privacy discussion. He outlines how information databases came to be and how they have evolved. He then provides the basis for the metaphor he wants to present, showing that it is not the Orwellian world of 1984 we need to fear, but the world imagined by Kafka in The Trial that should be of concern to individuals. Having never read The Trial, I found this discussion to be fascinating and in some ways changed some of my thoughts on the issue, while reenforcing others. The meat of the book, which is built on his metaphor, is that current privacy laws in the United States have not kept up with technology, and that unless they are changed, individuals will continue to be helpless in controlling their information (which may or may not be private). As he points out, consumers are always at the wrong end of one-sided contracts when it comes to information surrounding their information. Acknowledging that the information genie is indeed out of the bottle, Solove hones in on discussions about what the laws need to address, but how this may not be so easy. The key is defining what is meant by "Secrecy" and "embarrassment". Also key is that the risks we face, given that so much of our lives is already catalogued, are the result of indifference or mistakes on the part of the people who hold the data. It is also the fact that this indifference and chances for error are magnified because there is no market or economic incentive for companies to have privacy policies that work for the consumer and have some teeth. He develops a framework for legal changes that centers on the 4th and 5th amendments of the constitution, providing examples how in some areas the courts have evolved as technologies change. But part of the c

This is the third book in my latest readings on post-9/11 citizen privacy and personal security issues. O'Harrow's "No Place To Hide" and Rosen's "The Naked Crowd" preceded this one. All have been informative, but this book by Daniel Solove is the crème de la crème. It is five stars with a bullet. It is scholarly in content without being esoteric as it wrestles with privacy law and privacy reconceptualization issues. Solove is a rare lawyer with the organized mind of an engineer, a "law engineer." He delineates the emerging problems attendant to digital dossiers while concisely laying out and discussing the pertinent law, privacy issues and conceptual models of privacy protection. He is able to deftly juggle Kafka, Huxley and Orwell's "privacy & surveillance" writings while seamlessly marrying them and the other digital privacy elements to privacy law history running from Warren and Brandeis' "The Right To Privacy," through the Privacy Act of 1974 up to COPPA. Like many of us "digital persons" pursuing life, liberty and happiness out in the U.S. hinterlands, Solove recognizes "the government's increasing access to our digital dossiers is one of the most significant threats to privacy of our times...". He wisely understands that the "law crafting" solution must be an adaptively dynamic one and proposes an architectural solution that is process oriented. This book makes it clear that SOLOVE KNOWZ PRIVACY LAW!

There are quite a few current books on privacy (eg: Database Nation, Soft Cage, Unwanted Gaze, No Place to Hide, War on Our Freedoms, The Right to Privacy, and others). Having read these and a few others, I believe this is the best. This book distinguishes itself by its balanced, mature perspective. It provides all the requisite background on both governmental and business actions that have destroyed privacy. It outlines and summarizes privacy law in a non-technical but pertinent manner. Where this book pulls ahead of others is in its recognition that what "privacy" is about is the balance of power in society between individuals on one hand, and large institutions such as government and business on the other. Solove recommends a number of realistic, do-able solutions founded in a basic philosophy of law. I wish there were some evidence (any evidence!) that Solove's ideas were influencing our society's direction in this area, but I see none. Nevertheless, Solove has taken the important first step of analyzing the problem and offering a well-reasoned solution.

Solove has created a comprehensive and easy to read review of the emergent threats to personal privacy in the information age, and has succeeded in reconceptualizing privacy given the growing pervasiveness and power of digital dossiers. The Digital Person is divided into three parts: Part I discusses the emergence of digital dossiers, the threat they pose to personal privacy, how both the marketplace and the current legal architecture fail to adequately respond to these threats, and Solove's call for a new legal architecture. Suitable to be read on its own, Part I is a convincing and authoritative argument of Solove's thesis. Part II shifts to a discussion of how the increased use and access to public records, documenting one's life "from birth to death," contribute to the problem of digital dossiers when this information flows from the public to the private sector. And Part III considers data flows in the opposite direction - from the private sector to the government - as the vast digital dossiers being constructed by businesses are becoming more attractive to law enforcement agencies.

At long last . . . a book about privacy that doesn't just whine about how privacy is "dead"! Solove offers real solutions to real problems. The book is both frightening and optimistic. Solove talks about the efforts underway by big corporations and big government to collect our data and how its use is harming people. These developments are astonishing, and the book describes them in a way that opens your eyes to the big picture of what is going on. His discussion of why we should protect privacy is the best argument I've yet heard. Solove doesn't dumb down his discussion like many other books do. Nor does he throw his hands up in the air and say that our privacy is all gone. Solove is very specific about the changes he proposes in the law. I appreciated the fact that Solove offers real solutions. This is a deeper book than most books on privacy. If you want to learn why privacy should be protected and how, you should definitely read this remarkable book. Sue Soltis Colorado