Biblio File

Your Right to Privacy: A Reading List by Nancy Aravecz, Jefferson Market LibraryOctober 23, 2019

October 21-26, 2019, is Library Privacy Week, when librarians across New York City raise awareness about the vulnerability of individual privacy rights in our current information economy. From big data to facial recognition technology, data security breaches to the Internet of Things, it can feel like the right to privacy is under attack from all sides in the 21st century.

Whether you are a seasoned privacy advocate or just starting to learn ways in which privacy is being eroded in our society, it is easy to become overwhelmed and feel powerless in the face of this complex and massive issue. You can feel empowered to take charge of your right to privacy—and help others do the same—by staying on top of current trends and key terms which define the ways the loss of privacy affects the fabric of our lives, both at home and in public spaces.

Here is a list of resources that will help you to do just that:

Books on Privacy

Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O'Neil

Cathy O'Neil's book provides an accessible, entertaining, and often infuriating introduction to the ways big data algorithms reinforce and exacerbate existing inequalities in our society.

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism book cover

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff

Shoshana Zuboff coined the phrase "surveillance capitalism" to describe an economy based on data and surveillance. This hefty tome breaks down the data and information marketplace, and shows how this powerful new market is changing our economies, our governments, and our day-to-day behavior.

Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World by Bruce Schneier

In this easy-to-read work of popular nonfiction, Schneier focuses on how governments around the world are harnessing big data to chill free speech, modify their citizens' behavior, and consolidate power. He offers solutions for everyday people to take back power, and pressure their governments and private companies to take a stand against the erosion of privacy rights.

Obfuscation: A User's Guide to Privacy and Protest by Finn Brunton and Helen Nissenbaum

Brunton and Nissenbaum work under the assumptions that true privacy and anonymity are impossible (and sometimes unethical) in this day and age, and instead offer a framework for obscuring identity for activists that works around these "impossibilities."

The Glen Park Library: A Fairy Tale of Disruption by Pamela M. Lee

In this experimental historical narrative, Pamela Lee tells the story of a San Francisco-based hacker who was arrested and sentenced to life in prison, in connection to his work on the Silk Road, a notorious and illegal marketplace on the Dark Web. The book explores issues of privacy, anonymity, technology, crime, and governance.

Permanent Record by Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden famously exposed the NSA's global data collection enterprise back in 2013, and remains a figure who regularly speaks out against state-run surveillance projects. His memoir defends his past actions and offers new insights into how government surveillance has evolved since he went into exile.

Exploding Data: Reclaiming Our Cybersecurity in the Digital Age by Michael Chertoff

Chertoff writes from a security standpoint, and offers suggestions for how our antiquated laws must be overhauled to provide proper protections for Americans from rapidly evolving technologies.

Under Surveillance: Being Watched in Modern America by Randolph Lewis

Lewis takes a page from Neil Postman's book by focusing on the entertaining aspects of internet technology—and their insidious effects on our society. He offers a chapter on children and privacy, an often overlooked area of the discussion of the erosion of privacy rights in the U.S.

Eyes and Spies: How You're Tracked and Why You Should Know by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

Written with teens in mind, this illustrated guide breaks down the various ways in which people are under surveillance, and offers tips on how readers can take steps to prevent from being tracked.

The Circle by Dave Eggers

Eggers' novel takes place at a Google-like omni-corporation, where a utopian vision for a technology-powered future goes terribly wrong. This is fiction that often feels a little bit too real.

Articles and Magazines on Privacy

The Library Bill of Rights by the American Library Association

Did you know your right to privacy while using the library is a core value of the profession of librarianship? Libraries strive to be centers for intellectual freedom, where people may explore any topic they wish without fear of being surveiled. The Library Bill of Rights outlines this idea, and others that are essential to librarians across the U.S.

The Right to Privacy by Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis

This essay, published in the Harvard Law Review in 1890, is a foundational text for understanding privacy in the United States. Access this for free from home on JSTOR using your library card!