The End of Privacy
The Attack on Personal Rights at Home, at Work, On-Line, and in Court
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
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 lost: our fundamental right to our own lives.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sykes (A Nation of Victims) provides a timely analysis of the challenges to privacy posed by technological change, media aggressiveness, governmental and business intrusion and even our own propensity to share information about ourselves. In today's "surveillance society," Congress has refused to regulate clandestine workplace videotaping or the dissemination of personal information in the private market. To illustrate how pervasive the threat to privacy is, Sykes observes that pressures from criminal courts and from HMOs have eroded the formerly sacrosanct confidentiality of psychotherapy. Sykes finds that privacy is far more respected in Europe, where stringent regulations limit intrusions. While "the legal remedies for private sector invasions of privacy are virtually nonexistent," Sykes suggests that such law might develop. As he looks at both governmental and private-sector encroachments on individual privacy, Sykes comes to the conclusion that, rather than wait for government to rein itself in or regulate the private sector, individuals should be more vigilant about their privacy. They should not only refuse to release personal data but also try to keep "private lives private." Sykes concludes his informative tour of the shrinking realm of privacy by warning readers that a recommitment to privacy requires us to "rethink the reach of the therapeutic state."
Customer Reviews
Charlie does it again.
Right on point and a great read!