Privacy is Power: Why and How You Should Take Back Control of Your Data
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- Create Date：2021-06-28 00:51:11
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Carissa Véliz
- ISBN：0552177717
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Summary
As the data economy grows in power， Carissa Véliz exposes how our privacy is eroded by big tech and governments， why that matters and what we can do about it。
The moment you check your phone in the morning you are giving away your data。 Before you’ve even switched off your alarm， a whole host of organisations have been alerted to when you woke up， where you slept， and with whom。 As you check the weather， scroll through your ‘suggested friends’ on Facebook， you continually compromise your privacy。
Without your permission， or even your awareness， tech companies are harvesting your information， your location， your likes， your habits， and sharing it amongst themselves。 They're not just selling your data。 They’re selling the power to influence you。 Even when you’ve explicitly asked them not to。 And it's not just you。 It's all your contacts too。
Digital technology is stealing our personal data and with it our power to make free choices。 To reclaim that power and democracy， we must protect our privacy。
What can we do？ So much is at stake。 Our phones， our TVs， even our washing machines are spies in our own homes。 We need new regulation。 We need to pressure policy-makers for red lines on the data economy。 And we need to stop sharing and to adopt privacy-friendly alternatives to Google， Facebook and other online platforms。
Short， terrifying， practical: Privacy is Power highlights the implications of our laid-back attitude to data and sets out how we can take back control。
If you liked The Age of Surveillance Capitalism， you’ll love Privacy is Power because it provides a philosophical perspective on the politics of privacy， and it offers a very practical outlook， both for policymakers and ordinary citizens。
The moment you check your phone in the morning you are giving away your data。 Before you’ve even switched off your alarm， a whole host of organisations have been alerted to when you woke up， where you slept， and with whom。 As you check the weather， scroll through your ‘suggested friends’ on Facebook， you continually compromise your privacy。
Without your permission， or even your awareness， tech companies are harvesting your information， your location， your likes， your habits， and sharing it amongst themselves。 They're not just selling your data。 They’re selling the power to influence you。 Even when you’ve explicitly asked them not to。 And it's not just you。 It's all your contacts too。
Digital technology is stealing our personal data and with it our power to make free choices。 To reclaim that power and democracy， we must protect our privacy。
What can we do？ So much is at stake。 Our phones， our TVs， even our washing machines are spies in our own homes。 We need new regulation。 We need to pressure policy-makers for red lines on the data economy。 And we need to stop sharing and to adopt privacy-friendly alternatives to Google， Facebook and other online platforms。
Short， terrifying， practical: Privacy is Power highlights the implications of our laid-back attitude to data and sets out how we can take back control。
If you liked The Age of Surveillance Capitalism， you’ll love Privacy is Power because it provides a philosophical perspective on the politics of privacy， and it offers a very practical outlook， both for policymakers and ordinary citizens。
Reviews
Pooja
，
Although I’m generally on the same side as the author on the subject of privacy， the books comes across as a preachy monologue。 Not much new information; all data points and references interpreted through a singular lens。 it’s almost as if the author drew her conclusions in advance and then searched for references to support them。 Quite a few logic gaps， or statements that are not adequately supported by fact。 Overall， would only recommend reading the introduction and skimming Chapter 5
Homer David
，
Dr Véliz， if you are reading this I assure you that it is nothing personal！ I am currently researching privacy from an applied ethics approach where I discovered your research， and I know you have read all the articles and books I have read on this topic， so I find it hard to understand why someone with the philosophical credentials you have failed to write a book that engaged with the real philosophical issues。 I also read every article referenced in the book， which are mainly Guardian type art Dr Véliz， if you are reading this I assure you that it is nothing personal！ I am currently researching privacy from an applied ethics approach where I discovered your research， and I know you have read all the articles and books I have read on this topic， so I find it hard to understand why someone with the philosophical credentials you have failed to write a book that engaged with the real philosophical issues。 I also read every article referenced in the book， which are mainly Guardian type articles， rather than the heavy weight literature on this topic （no JJ Thomson， Gavison， Rachels， Posner， Allen， Bentham？）。 My biggest disappointment is that the concept of privacy is not clearly explored and defined in order that the real threats and challenges to privacy can be investigated。 Privacy is used in several senses: the 'right to be let alone'， as 'access to one's person' and as control over information about oneself。 I would expect these overlapping and sometimes conflicting elements of 'privacy' to have been unpacked in a full length book。 The book does touch on some more philosophical ideas， the value of forgetting， what is a healthy degree of concealment – and from whom – but these discussions are generally kept to one paragraph。For example， is a machine capable of violating one's informational privacy， even if no human （or sentient being） ever sees the data it mines and passes on？ Instead， the approach the book takes is to lay out a 100 pages of （what are suggested to be） loss-of-privacy horror stories: the preacher that killed himself after the Ashley Madison leak， the crazed stalker that bought a unrequited high school love's data in 1999 in order to locate and then murder her， the man who was arrested on suspicion of rape and murder he did not commit after a relative made their DNA profile public。 There are plenty of examples of what we could call harms to the individual。 But if， as Véliz suggests， （p。63） 'we should never allow a technology to run amok based on a best-case scenario，' then I would suggest that we should also not advocate for returning to storing information on paper and 'dumb' devices based on worst-case scenarios。 From this book you would think that tech and data sharing has not had any positive effects。 Even in the above mentioned case of the man falsely accused of murder based on a relatives DNA profile， the inconvenience he faced is focussed on （which is being arrested and detained for several hours）， rather than the fact that it was actually a distant relative of his that had committed the murder！ A murder for which another innocent man had been in prison for 20 years， and was subsequently freed and the right man incarcerated。 To be fair， the book lays out the fact that it going to try and scare you into deleting Facebook and buying CDs again， but I'm really not sure that is what we needed， Black Mirror and the like does a much better job of instilling techno-phobia。The other running argument is the ever-present threat of an authoritarian take over， summed up here， （p。136） 'Your country might be respectful of your human rights today， but can you be absolutely sure that it will continue to be so in five or ten years’ time？' But this logic can be applied to EVERYTHING: trains？ no thanks， they can be used to transport us to the concentration camps！ I totally agree that we have to minimise the threat of a totalitarian regime coming to power， but that doesn't align with the book's suggestion that state regulation is the solution to ending privacy violations。 A smaller government would also be a possible solution。 Anyway， I could go on， but I won't。 On the plus side， the book is only a 150 odd pages and if you know absolutely nothing on the topic it could be a good way to get an overview of the argument against surveillance， or surveillance capitalism。 I hope I get the chance to discuss these disagreements with Dr Véliz directly someday。 。。。more
Andrea
，
A must-read， we are all part of the digital era and must protect and reclaim which is ours by birthright to protect our future。
Henry Manson
，
I think everyone should read this， it’s very insightful about a topic most of us seem to choose to ignore。 I can’t wait to annoy my friends by blabbing on about it for the next few weeks。 The only issue I have with it is that it seems to make the same point repeatedly but just rephrased。 This makes it somewhat tiresome in some parts。 But that’s a small complaint compared to the amount of knowledge that can be gained。I hope my Goodreads data is not being exploited？
Evan O'Coimín
，
the 1st half of this book is the most interesting in my opinion despite it being quite similar to most of the stuff out there on this topic。 i got it from the library because it seemed interesting， not really the usual thing i read。i didnt like the political perspective that this book provided， the duality between "authoritarianism" （bad countries like russia and china） and "liberal democracy" （good countries like the uk and the us）。 there's a whole page about the chinese "social credit system" the 1st half of this book is the most interesting in my opinion despite it being quite similar to most of the stuff out there on this topic。 i got it from the library because it seemed interesting， not really the usual thing i read。i didnt like the political perspective that this book provided， the duality between "authoritarianism" （bad countries like russia and china） and "liberal democracy" （good countries like the uk and the us）。 there's a whole page about the chinese "social credit system" with about 2 sources， which struck me as shocking for the system that the largest country in the world allegedly runs on。 in the chapter where véliz details what we can do as individuals to protect our privacy， she notes that the cia and nsa have recommended not buying chinese phones due to government backdoors， and then notes that android bloatware is notoriously insecure， leaving the insinuation that an iphone is the most secure option - interestingly， that the cia and nsa have a backdoor to。 obviously， no kind of government surveillance is good， but the idea that its only foreign governments and "bad actors" （or once so-called "liberal democracies" have been significantly impacted by these bad actors， this book seeming to take russiagate as gospel） you need to be fearful of is downright laughable。 i also disagree with her blind faith in capitalism。 i'm of the opinion that surveillance capitalism is not the issue - it is part of capitalism， it has developed within capitalism and has not evolved past it。 simply because facebook and google and so on don't own factories， does not mean this model has significantly shifted。 thankfully， she sees that the market is incapable of regulating itself in this capacity due to its sole pursuit of profit， but i also am left disappointed by the regular liberal rallying cry of "vote and write to your representatives" as the sole avenue of change。 overall， a good surface-level analysis of the problems of the so called data economy。 the individual advice is good too， although perhaps a little too shy of radical change （no mention of the free software movement for example， and recommendations of telegram and signal as 'safe and secure'）。 but yes， it's a good introduction to the topic for mainstream liberal readers。 i'd suggest looking into luke smith's youtube channel （although don't go too far into his ideological rabbit hole） for further information about modern technology。 。。。more
Karen
，
This is a chilling and helpful book。 I had to wait so long for my turn at the library that I had forgotten why I put it on my hold list in the first place。 I almost just cancelled the hold， but I am really glad that I didn't。 This short book will tell you a lot that you already know: big tech does not benefit from protecting our privacy and will do as little as it can。 I was particularly struck by the example of Google maps， which I use a lot and which allows you to opt out of location tracking- This is a chilling and helpful book。 I had to wait so long for my turn at the library that I had forgotten why I put it on my hold list in the first place。 I almost just cancelled the hold， but I am really glad that I didn't。 This short book will tell you a lot that you already know: big tech does not benefit from protecting our privacy and will do as little as it can。 I was particularly struck by the example of Google maps， which I use a lot and which allows you to opt out of location tracking--except that， unless you know about and manage to locate an obscure other tab， it will still track at least some of your location， including where you are when you open the app。 The final chapter is a list of strategies that you can employ to preserve more of your privacy。 Véliz also includes a clear discussion of how regulation of big tech needs to change， beginning with privacy as the default （opt in rather than opt out）。 For example， if I don't want to use Siri on my iPhone， I cannot just turn Siri off。 I must also go through every single app （including the ones Apple loads that I don't use） clicking several options to prevent Siri from "learning from" what I do on the app。 This book is short （about 200 pages） and very readable。 Véliz explains in clear， accessible language what we need to do and is actually optimistic about getting it done。 Highly recommended for anyone who doesn't want Big Tech constantly "learning from" everything they do。 。。。more
Alejandro
，
Great book。 Definitely a must read for everyone since privacy is collective。I’m a certified Privacy professional and passionate by this topic， but the book is very well written and structured， it’s simple language allows anyone to enjoy reading this book and to obtain valuable learnings and insights on how our personal information is being processed and collected， and includes some easy to follow advice on how to avoid （or at least minimize） your data from being collected。Some chapters are a bit Great book。 Definitely a must read for everyone since privacy is collective。I’m a certified Privacy professional and passionate by this topic， but the book is very well written and structured， it’s simple language allows anyone to enjoy reading this book and to obtain valuable learnings and insights on how our personal information is being processed and collected， and includes some easy to follow advice on how to avoid （or at least minimize） your data from being collected。Some chapters are a bit concerning and provocative but current data collection practices are。。。 so there isn’t anything described in the book that I find being exaggerated or magnified。I also like the fact that the book is quite recent and content is very actual， as we know that tech related books can become outdated very easily。As a privacy professional I sometimes struggle explaining to general audience why they should care about their personal data （have heard so many people say “but I have nothing to hide！”） and this book gave me a lot of good statements and examples to use。 Will also be definitely recommending it’s reading。I hope some day Privacy becomes a topic being taught at schools and universities as definitely we all need to work together on preserving this fundamental right。 。。。more
Anders
，
There was a saying some time ago that data is the new oil which i find suitable， although not in the sense of creating wealth， but as in destroying the planet。 This book highlights how the "oil spill" and "following ecological disaster" that uncontrolled sharing of personal data is caused by more or less well-meaning people in the hands of big tech。 The book is a great entry point to the problem space and provides guidance applicable to everyone。 For us working in technology this should be a man There was a saying some time ago that data is the new oil which i find suitable， although not in the sense of creating wealth， but as in destroying the planet。 This book highlights how the "oil spill" and "following ecological disaster" that uncontrolled sharing of personal data is caused by more or less well-meaning people in the hands of big tech。 The book is a great entry point to the problem space and provides guidance applicable to everyone。 For us working in technology this should be a mandatory read。 I wish that the book would have gone into more detail related to some aspects， but as it reads it is a short a concise book easy to read for everyone。 。。。more
Nick Burns
，
An excellent read for allI have always enjoyed technology， but I haven’t enjoyed watching the direction it’s taken over the past decade。 This book does an excellent job highlighting ethical issues with the tech we use and drawing parallels with history。 I will definitely recommend it to others。
Rachel
，
Privacy is Power - Carissa VélizAn urgent， convincing， important read on why we should be concerned and protect our personal data insofar as possible。 Here are some key points which really resonated: Privacy protects us from unwanted pressures and abuse of power。 We need privacy to explore new ideas freely。 Human beings need privacy to unwind from the burden of being with other people。 We need it to be autonomous and for democracies to function well。 Many who acquire our data can use it to sell Privacy is Power - Carissa VélizAn urgent， convincing， important read on why we should be concerned and protect our personal data insofar as possible。 Here are some key points which really resonated: Privacy protects us from unwanted pressures and abuse of power。 We need privacy to explore new ideas freely。 Human beings need privacy to unwind from the burden of being with other people。 We need it to be autonomous and for democracies to function well。 Many who acquire our data can use it to sell secrets to insurance companies， governments， employers。The book explains how fake cell phone towers （IMSI-catchers are often near parliaments or protests） trick phones into connecting to them， enabling eavesdropping， spying on online activity。Privacy is Power also reminds us to consider checking privacy policies annually， browser， app and webpage settings， and tech’s non-transparent language （spyware = ‘cookies’）。 Many tech companies make products that’ll help them achieve their goals， products that squeeze as much data as possible from us。 Many companies would gladly take away all of our freedom。 Corporate disregard for autonomy is a new type of soft authoritarianism。During the Holocaust， one person， René Carmille， prevented thousands of French Jews from execution by not handing over their personal data。 Those who build tech should also think about how they want to be remembered。 Many inventors regret their creations （dynamite， AK-47s， pop-up ads）。This 2020 book even covered the pitfalls of contact tracing apps （eg。 bluetooth not differentiating between people standing “close” to someone on another floor） and how mass testing is way more important （it tests many people at a time） than mass surveillance （eg。 a close contact of someone infected with Covid can spread the virus to countless others before being tested positive）。While I found some bits strikingly similar to Shoshana Zuboff’s The Age of Surveillance Capitalism， this book is more streamlined， layperson-friendly， with more arguments and tips on how we can protect ourselves and loved ones。 Get your copy today from your local bookstore！ Thank you @times。reads for this monumental book。 。。。more
Zhivko Kabaivanov
，
Privacy is Power （2020） is a shocking exposé of the inner workings of surveillance capitalism。 It reveals how， every day， hundreds of interested parties are violating your privacy and capitalizing on your personal data。 Corporations， governments， and criminals alike are all busy collecting and exploiting your data in an effort to influence the way you think and behave。You’ll learn why your privacy is so important and what you can do to protect it。
Jung
，
It’s time to think carefully about the kind of future we want to live in。 There are two paths we can follow: the first leads to an even more extreme surveillance society than the one we live in today。 It’s a world in which every word you utter and every action you make is recorded， analyzed， and shared with whoever’s willing to pay for it。 It’s a world in which privacy is no longer possible。 But there’s also another path， one that leads to a world in which your devices aren’t monitoring you; whe It’s time to think carefully about the kind of future we want to live in。 There are two paths we can follow: the first leads to an even more extreme surveillance society than the one we live in today。 It’s a world in which every word you utter and every action you make is recorded， analyzed， and shared with whoever’s willing to pay for it。 It’s a world in which privacy is no longer possible。 But there’s also another path， one that leads to a world in which your devices aren’t monitoring you; where only you have access to your most private information; and， where corporations serve citizens rather than exploiting and profiting off them。 The choice is clear。 Mass surveillance is incompatible with freedom， equality， and democracy。 Surveillance capitalism has to go。Here’s one more bit of Actionable advice: Clean up your digital footprint with a digital privacy detox at datadetoxkit。orgUnfortunately， as things currently stand， completely protecting your privacy as you go about your day-to-day life isn’t feasible。 The devices you use and the websites you visit have been designed precisely to undermine your privacy。 That being said， there’s still a lot you can do to keep your data as safe and secure as possible。 Consider completing the digital detox course at datadetoxkit。org。 This resource walks you through the process of securing your digital devices。 It explains everything from how to change the default settings on your Facebook and Google accounts， to which extensions will help protect your browser from ads， cookies， and spyware。 。。。more
Dara
，
[disappears from the internet forever]
Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell
，
Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Amazon || PinterestThere is an irony， I think， in giving a book like this to a book reviewer and being all， "Hey， book reviewer， please review this book about the dangers of social media websites and algorithms on social media sites so algorithms can use your sphere of influence and the engagement of the people who follow you to help the author/publisher sell more books！" I'm not saying it's a bad thing-- at least， not on the part of the writer or the publ Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Amazon || PinterestThere is an irony， I think， in giving a book like this to a book reviewer and being all， "Hey， book reviewer， please review this book about the dangers of social media websites and algorithms on social media sites so algorithms can use your sphere of influence and the engagement of the people who follow you to help the author/publisher sell more books！" I'm not saying it's a bad thing-- at least， not on the part of the writer or the publisher-- but it just goes to show how entrenched social media has become in the quotidian details of our lives， from work to play。PRIVACY IS POWER is a cohesive collection of essays that is intended to serve as a call to action to people to navigate social media a bit more safely and make them aware of the value of their data and how freely and carelessly some of us toss all caution to the winds。 I've read other books about this subject and watched documentaries on it （one of my faves is the Adam Ruins Everything short， "The Terrifying cost of 'FREE' websites。" By the end of the book， the reader learns about how social media giants like Facebook and Google mine users for data and sell them to third parties for profit， and not always in a way that seems completely aboveboard。It's a great book。 Sometimes the author seems like she's reaching a bit， though。 I felt a little uncomfortable with the comparison of data harvesting to WWII-era Germany， for example， even though she was careful to clarify her point with some comparisons。 It felt like the conclusion was a bit too A Modest Proposal for me。 There were a couple other moments like this， such as the suggestion of starting a book club on privacy and then， in all seriousness， suggesting Dave Eggers's THE CIRCLE and Orwell's 1984 that kind of made me roll my eyes。 Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're out to get your data。Overall， I think this book should be suggested reading for many people-- especially if you use a lot of smart devices or social media sites-- and something like this should really be part of the school curriculum。 Apart from "don't talk to strangers，" we were never really taught about online safety in schools and kids now are developing online profiles from a very early age （sometimes， in the case of over-sharing moms， from birth）， so I am totally for everyone "interwebbing" safely， even if maybe I've taken a few too many hard knocks with the soma from BRAVE NEW WORLD in the form of social media usage。 Reading a book really primes you to think critically about what you consume。Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review！4 stars 。。。more
Vasileios Giannakopoulos
，
Privacy is finally an issue that becomes more popular thanks to the awareness。 This book is touching interestingly the subject and explains diverse ways where privacy needs to be thought， but on the other hand it is also approaching the solutions to privacy in a very radical， naive way。
Ine
，
A very easy and pleasant read， and a solid introduction to privacy thinking。
Sven Gerst
，
I have philosophically very different view in a sense that I think a post-privacy world would actually enable more Liberty than a privacy-obsessed society。 But ultimately I also installed the full package of privacy protection。。。so maybe Carissa convinced me after all。
Cass
，
I read this for a class but it was actually a very good， fast read！ I also recognize the irony of posting about a book about privacy on a platform owned by Amazon， which steals all our data。 Anyway， this was incredibly interesting， and while I liked it all， I found the final two chapter on what we （as individuals and our governments） can do about taking back our data and privacy to be the most impactful。 Some of the earlier chapters got a bit repetitive， but I find that's true of a lot of non-fi I read this for a class but it was actually a very good， fast read！ I also recognize the irony of posting about a book about privacy on a platform owned by Amazon， which steals all our data。 Anyway， this was incredibly interesting， and while I liked it all， I found the final two chapter on what we （as individuals and our governments） can do about taking back our data and privacy to be the most impactful。 Some of the earlier chapters got a bit repetitive， but I find that's true of a lot of non-fiction where you want evidence to be plentiful， so don't let that deter you！ 。。。more
João Pinho
，
a must read
Ella Shepherd
，
A jolt to the system。 Remarkably well-written and engaging。 I finished it in a day。 Particularly loved it was not just ‘what’， but also ‘what you should do about it’。
Jarno Mehtiö
，
Tämän kirjan arvostelu Goodreadsiin kertoo， ettei ole ymmärtänyt kirjasta mitään。 Tieto on valtaa ja yksityinen tieto on ylivaltaa。 Yksityisyytemme on uhattuna joka puolelta tapahtuvan valvonnan ja seurannan takia。 Se uhkaa vapauttamme ja sitä myöten koko vapaata yhteiskuntaamme。 Tiedot kerättiin ja kerätään lupaa kysymättä， aina uusia vippaskonsteja kehittäen。 Tämä aloitettiin hiljaa ja salassa。 Lopulta on päädytty tilanteeseen， jossa tietoa käyttämällä meidät tunnetaan paremmin kuin lähes itse Tämän kirjan arvostelu Goodreadsiin kertoo， ettei ole ymmärtänyt kirjasta mitään。 Tieto on valtaa ja yksityinen tieto on ylivaltaa。 Yksityisyytemme on uhattuna joka puolelta tapahtuvan valvonnan ja seurannan takia。 Se uhkaa vapauttamme ja sitä myöten koko vapaata yhteiskuntaamme。 Tiedot kerättiin ja kerätään lupaa kysymättä， aina uusia vippaskonsteja kehittäen。 Tämä aloitettiin hiljaa ja salassa。 Lopulta on päädytty tilanteeseen， jossa tietoa käyttämällä meidät tunnetaan paremmin kuin lähes itsekään tunnemme， meitä voidaan ohjailla haluttuun suuntaan ja samalla aiheutamme itse toisillemme riskejä， koska tietoja yhdistelemällä lähes kenestä tahansa saadaan kaivettua tietoa， haluttaessa。 Riskit tietomurtoihin ja muihin rikoksiin kasvavat。 Vapautemme valita kaventuu。Kuuntelin kirjan kanssa samaan aikaan Sacha Baron Cohenin haastattelun Swayn podcastissa puhumassa erittäin fiksuja。 Taustaa antoi myös äskettäin kuuntelevani， saman lehtitalon vanhempi podcast， Rabbit Hole。 （Itsessään kirja oli hyvä tiivistelmä asiasta， jonka suurin osa varmaan tietää。 Mutta ei välitä。 Eikä tämän lukemisenkaan jälkeen。） 。。。more
Ale Carrizo
，
I never realized the importance of knowing about what happens behind the internet， before reading this book I thought the people who said that your computer and phone “ listens you” were crazy。 But now I know that everything is right。 I fully recommend to read this book to everyone， I don’t want to make a lot of spoilers so I just wanna say that we have to be really careful with our privacy because we don’t know when someone is listens us。 Doesn’t matter if you are link me a “no one” we are inte I never realized the importance of knowing about what happens behind the internet， before reading this book I thought the people who said that your computer and phone “ listens you” were crazy。 But now I know that everything is right。 I fully recommend to read this book to everyone， I don’t want to make a lot of spoilers so I just wanna say that we have to be really careful with our privacy because we don’t know when someone is listens us。 Doesn’t matter if you are link me a “no one” we are interesting for the internet and the people behind it！ 。。。more
Radu Homorozan
，
Great book， and a must-read for every netizen （so basically everyone who surfs the web or uses digital products/services）。 It elaborates on why privacy is indeed power， and why we should reclaim our privacy and insist on proper privacy legislation。 Even if you are one of the people who "have nothing to hide"， this book will help you understand why it is still important to stay private; important for you as an individual， for our democracies， and society as a whole。 Great book， and a must-read for every netizen （so basically everyone who surfs the web or uses digital products/services）。 It elaborates on why privacy is indeed power， and why we should reclaim our privacy and insist on proper privacy legislation。 Even if you are one of the people who "have nothing to hide"， this book will help you understand why it is still important to stay private; important for you as an individual， for our democracies， and society as a whole。 。。。more
William Connelly
，
Interesting book which revealed the scale and depth of the data economy。 Contained lots of information that I didn’t know or hadn’t considered。 I consider myself reasonably tech savvy but even I’m wide open， data wise。 Book contained ideas on how to proceed from here， privacy settings， ad blockers， restricting the data you give out。 Only complaint was a slight over-repetition of certain points。
Paulo Adalberto Reimann
，
OK Apparently the jennie has left the bottle and no can do to avoid snoopers。 Book is good， a tremendous warning coming too late。
arkadi cloud
，
6 stars！https://blog。arkadi。one/privacy-is-po。。。 6 stars！https://blog。arkadi。one/privacy-is-po。。。 。。。more
Bob Thatcher
，
I am very glad about this book bringing privacy issues into the mainstream and explaining them in a way where you do not require technological knowledge to understand it。 The book makes a lot of sensible claims and is written in an easy to read way。 I really enjoyed it。 Things are really looking bad in regards to privacy and this book made me realize the consequences can be much worse than targeted ads。 We live in a world where big corporations can easily influence politics without anyone even k I am very glad about this book bringing privacy issues into the mainstream and explaining them in a way where you do not require technological knowledge to understand it。 The book makes a lot of sensible claims and is written in an easy to read way。 I really enjoyed it。 Things are really looking bad in regards to privacy and this book made me realize the consequences can be much worse than targeted ads。 We live in a world where big corporations can easily influence politics without anyone even knowing。Having this said I take a few issues with this book。 Some claims are just not true。 For instance the fact that data does not help machine learning models train better。 The author backs this claim with examples of tasks where reinforcement learning yields much better results than supervised learning （AlphaGo）。 The fact that you can reach good results without big data might be accurate for such exaples， but is not a general truth。 It is weird that such claims are in this book since the case is already strong。 Such errors do not help its case。I would still recommend this book to anyone who is interested in knowing more about the current state of affairs in regards to privacy and privacy politics。 。。。more
Remco
，
I thought this was a very thought provoking book to read。 Everyone that uses social media， Google or the internet or has a smart phone ought to read it。 I regard myself as reasonably well informed as regards to cyber risks and using proper hygiene standards when using the internet。 Nonetheless I found myself learning a lot from this book。The author does a great job in hand breaking down the high level issues around data privacy and how it impacts lives of of human beings。 But also in giving a ra I thought this was a very thought provoking book to read。 Everyone that uses social media， Google or the internet or has a smart phone ought to read it。 I regard myself as reasonably well informed as regards to cyber risks and using proper hygiene standards when using the internet。 Nonetheless I found myself learning a lot from this book。The author does a great job in hand breaking down the high level issues around data privacy and how it impacts lives of of human beings。 But also in giving a raft of very practical tips on things you can start doing yourself to protect your own personal data better。 Because the book was written and published in 2020 it is all very fresh and even some corona virus related issues are being discussed （tracker apps and the like）I found the author's style of writing appealing。 To the point， well structured and with arguments succinctly put。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Gilbert Hill
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“Oh， so you’re doing history， not philosophy”“Privacy is dead。 Get used to it。 Nothing to think about”These are some gut reactions from friends and colleagues to Carissa Veliz’s choice of privacy for academic study as Associate Professor at Oxford University。 More sympathetic responses tried to refocus her on a topic of research with brighter prospects。 Were these doubters justified？ Whether we fell into the rabbit hole of privacy by accident， or by design， soundbites like these are frequently h “Oh， so you’re doing history， not philosophy”“Privacy is dead。 Get used to it。 Nothing to think about”These are some gut reactions from friends and colleagues to Carissa Veliz’s choice of privacy for academic study as Associate Professor at Oxford University。 More sympathetic responses tried to refocus her on a topic of research with brighter prospects。 Were these doubters justified？ Whether we fell into the rabbit hole of privacy by accident， or by design， soundbites like these are frequently heard， and as a technologist myself， the feeling of swimming against the tide is a familiar one。 Based on her book “Privacy is Power”， by putting the ‘death’ of privacy， and rise of the Data Economy in a historical context， Veliz sheds new light on the invasiveness of current power structures， and how vulnerable to regulation， public opinion and collective action they now are。 Veliz’s book starts with a day in the life of a tracked individual which sufficiently lurid to remind me of my festive blowout with Stephen King novels， but an effective break from the norm of academic or ‘compliance’ language around privacy。 Devices， web cookies and corporations really are capturing， analysing and monetising every moment （and indiscretion） of our lives， from lovers’ heartbeats to the keystrokes of emails and social messages which are never sent。 The reduction by tech of people with rights to monetised ‘users’ has been called a fair deal for digital convenience but in reality， from AdTech through to health AI， the value exchange with personal data is unequal， broken or non-existent in the first place。 Even those who won big in this now regret the logical conclusion of the Data Trade; after Facebook bought WhatsApp， Brian Acton， one of the co-founders， admitted “I sold my users’ privacy”。 Still， there is a wide scale of variance in the amount of profiling data when it comes to messaging services， as new research shows: https://www。forbes。com/sites/zakdoffm。。。 Facebook is a familiar target as it enabled bad actors like Cambridge Analytica to harvest and weaponize the data of 200 million users via our contacts and the human need to socialise。 Google also comes under attack for its control of web advertising and political dialogue （it is by far the biggest spender in the US on lobbying）， even as it starts to behave like a regulator itself。 Veliz explodes myths about how much data is needed to keep progress marching along， largely because it’s tempting to think more data = smarter AI， or more personal = better healthcare， so-called ‘magical thinking’。 In fact， data overload may impede our thinking and decision-making capabilities， and doesn’t add value in most cases。 Human forgetting is partly a value-add process of filtering what’s important， and in any case most of the ‘training’ for AI’s is done by manually by humans jockeying the software or literally listening in to conversations。 It’s helpful to hear my own thoughts echoed on how valid concerns and best intentions around security were used to undermine our right to privacy。 Seen historically， one of the tragedies of the 9/11 attacks was abandonment of planned regulation for data commerce which has only started to be tackled now with GDPR， CCPA & similar laws。 It’s also useful to have analytical， critical light shone onto the efforts of tech and governments to increase surveillance in the fight against COVID， even as this plays out in real time: https://www。zdnet。com/article/singapo。。。It will always be a struggle to keep personal data safe when interacting with companies that do not have the public good as their main objective， and in some cases have replaced human organisations which regulate and promote healthy behaviour。 That’s why solutions to the privacy problem need to focus on the collective， and for Veliz the path is clear: “We need to put our full weight behind privacy agencies to make sure laws are enforced。 And then we must regulate the data economy into oblivion”。 Where I diverge from the author is her belief， found often in an academic and policy space that there is no role for citizens to monetise their own data， as this will debase our rights and create more ‘collateral damage’。 I think there is plenty of space for tech to enable a New Data Economy with tools to provide smaller businesses and existing social groups with new sources of income and agency and， from the “Yang Gang” in the US to data unions and trusts in Europe and the UK， there is all to play for。 As the author covers engagingly and accessibly， language is power。 If we can socialise some of the new concepts around data citizenship then 2021 is indeed a historical moment to end the Wild West of data commerce and set the privacy landscape for the next few decades。 Now that’s an exciting topic！ 。。。more
Conor
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