Privacy in the Modern Age

The Search for Solutions
Edited by:

Visionaries from across disciplines propose solutions to the large-scale invasions of privacy of the digital age

“The Electronic Privacy Information Center is on the front lines of the most important civil liberties issues of our age.” —Bruce Schneier, author of Liars and Outliers and Applied Cryptography

The threats to privacy are well known: the National Security Agency tracks our phone calls, Google records where we go online and how we set our thermostats, Facebook changes our privacy settings when it wishes, Target gets hacked and loses control of our credit card information, our medical records are available for sale to strangers, our children are fingerprinted and their every test score saved for posterity, and small robots patrol our schoolyards while drones may soon fill our skies.

The contributors to this anthology don’t simply describe these problems or warn about the loss of privacy—they propose solutions. They look closely at business practices, public policy, and technology design and ask, “Should this continue? Is there a better approach?“ They take seriously the dictum of Thomas Edison: “What one creates with his hand, he should control with his head.” It’s a new approach to the privacy debate, one that assumes privacy is worth protecting, that there are solutions to be found, and that the future is not yet known. This volume will be an essential reference for policy makers and researchers, journalists and scholars, and others looking for answers to one of the biggest challenges of our modern day. The premise is clear: there’s a problem—let’s find a solution.

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Praise

“Original insights into the most critical privacy, data protection, and surveillance concerns of our time.”
—Anita Allen, vice provost for faculty, Henry R. Silverman Professor of Law, and professor of philosophy, University of Pennsylvania
“Privacy in the Modern Age continues EPIC’s courageous work as a standard-bearer of democratic values.”
—Shoshana Zuboff, Charles Edward Wilson Professor of Business Administration, emerita, Harvard Business School
“A fascinating overview of current challenges for our privacy and how best to counter them.”
—Peter Hustinx, European Data Protection Supervisor (2004–14)
“With the explosion in networked devices, privacy is threatened as never before. It is also still precious. EPIC sets out workable privacy approaches that can truly make a difference.”
—Rod Beckstrom, former CEO, ICANN, and former director, U.S. National Cybersecurity Center
“Never before has the thorough examination of the threats to American privacy been so crucial. Thank you to EPIC for inspired recommendations to help ensure our right to privacy remains a time-honored value in our interconnected world.”
—Senator Edward J. Markey
“In its first two decades, EPIC has become one of America’s most vigilant and respected defenders of privacy in the modern age, and this invaluable collection of essays shows why.”
—Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO, National Constitution Center
“The Electronic Privacy Information Center is on the front lines of the most important civil liberties issues of our age.”
—Bruce Schneier, author of Data and Goliath
“With this collection, EPIC sets out innovative solutions to many of our biggest civil liberties challenges.”
—Nadine Strossen, John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law, New York Law School, and president, American Civil Liberties Union (1991–2008)
“Privacy in the Modern Age should frighten you into joining with the authors to implement solutions that you can use to protect and defend your self from these invasions.”
—Ralph Nader

Goodreads Reviews