Seek and Hide: The Tangled History of the Right to Privacy
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-05-02 06:51:40
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Amy Gajda
- ISBN：1984880748
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
The surprising story of the fitful development of the right to privacy—and its battle against the public’s right to know—across American history。
There is no hotter topic than the desire to constrain tech companies like Facebook from exploiting our personal data， or to keep Alexa from spying on you。 Privacy has also provoked constitutional crisis （presidential tax returns） while Justice Clarence Thomas seeks to remove the protection of journalists who publish the truth about public officials。 Is privacy under deadly siege， or actually surging？
The answer is both， but that’s doubly dangerous， as legal expert Amy Gajda proves。 Too little privacy means that unwanted exposure by those who deal in and publish secrets。 Too much means the famous and infamous can cloak themselves in secrecy and shut down inquiry， and return us to the time before movements like Black Lives Matter and #MeToo opened eyes to hidden truths。
We are not the first generation to grapple with that clash， to worry that new technologies and fraying social mores pose an existential threat to our privacy while we recognize the value in knowing certain things。 Seek and Hide carries us from the Gilded Age， when the concept of a right to privacy by name first entered American law and society， to now， when the law allows a Silicon Valley titan like Peter Thiel to destroy a media site like Gawker out of spite。
Disturbingly， she shows that the original concern was not about intrusions into the lives of ordinary folks， but that the wealthy and powerful should not have their dignity assaulted by the wretches of the popular press like Nellie Bly。 Alexander Hamilton argued both sides of the issue depending on what it was being known， and about whom。 The modern right is anchored in a landmark 1890 essay by Louis Brandeis before he joined the Supreme Court， where he continued his instrumental support for the “privacies of life。” In the 1960s， privacy interests gave way to the glory days of investigative reporting in the era of Vietnam and Watergate。 By the 1990s we were on our way to today’s full-blown crisis of privacy in the digital age， from websites to webcams and the Forever Internet erasing our “right to be forgotten。” Or does it？
We stand today at another crossroads in which privacy is widely believed to be under assault from every direction by the anything-for-clicks business model and technology that can record and report our every move。 This timely book reminds us to remember the lessons of history: that such a seemingly innocent call can also be used to restrict essential freedoms to a democracy—because it already has。
There is no hotter topic than the desire to constrain tech companies like Facebook from exploiting our personal data， or to keep Alexa from spying on you。 Privacy has also provoked constitutional crisis （presidential tax returns） while Justice Clarence Thomas seeks to remove the protection of journalists who publish the truth about public officials。 Is privacy under deadly siege， or actually surging？
The answer is both， but that’s doubly dangerous， as legal expert Amy Gajda proves。 Too little privacy means that unwanted exposure by those who deal in and publish secrets。 Too much means the famous and infamous can cloak themselves in secrecy and shut down inquiry， and return us to the time before movements like Black Lives Matter and #MeToo opened eyes to hidden truths。
We are not the first generation to grapple with that clash， to worry that new technologies and fraying social mores pose an existential threat to our privacy while we recognize the value in knowing certain things。 Seek and Hide carries us from the Gilded Age， when the concept of a right to privacy by name first entered American law and society， to now， when the law allows a Silicon Valley titan like Peter Thiel to destroy a media site like Gawker out of spite。
Disturbingly， she shows that the original concern was not about intrusions into the lives of ordinary folks， but that the wealthy and powerful should not have their dignity assaulted by the wretches of the popular press like Nellie Bly。 Alexander Hamilton argued both sides of the issue depending on what it was being known， and about whom。 The modern right is anchored in a landmark 1890 essay by Louis Brandeis before he joined the Supreme Court， where he continued his instrumental support for the “privacies of life。” In the 1960s， privacy interests gave way to the glory days of investigative reporting in the era of Vietnam and Watergate。 By the 1990s we were on our way to today’s full-blown crisis of privacy in the digital age， from websites to webcams and the Forever Internet erasing our “right to be forgotten。” Or does it？
We stand today at another crossroads in which privacy is widely believed to be under assault from every direction by the anything-for-clicks business model and technology that can record and report our every move。 This timely book reminds us to remember the lessons of history: that such a seemingly innocent call can also be used to restrict essential freedoms to a democracy—because it already has。
Reviews
Tonya Woodbury
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Gajda traces the history of the sometimes contradictory rights of privacy and freedom of the press throughout the history of the United States。 The first part of the book focuses on the historic development of the right of privacy and emphasizes how it seemed to be predominantly used by powerful people to conceal aspects of their personal lives that would have made them look really bad if revealed。 She talks specifically about President Grover Cleaveland and his amorous affairs， including a poss Gajda traces the history of the sometimes contradictory rights of privacy and freedom of the press throughout the history of the United States。 The first part of the book focuses on the historic development of the right of privacy and emphasizes how it seemed to be predominantly used by powerful people to conceal aspects of their personal lives that would have made them look really bad if revealed。 She talks specifically about President Grover Cleaveland and his amorous affairs， including a possible illegitimate child， that were all kept from the view of the public and press by his assertion of the right to privacy。 No such right is provided in the Constitution， but over a century of judicial rulings， and in some cases， legislation， have shaped this right。 The later part of the book focuses more on modern day issues such as data privacy rights and social media。 It was most interesting to me to see how the right to privacy has changed almost entirely based on how the courts have ruled。 They were much more privacy-protecting it seemed around the late 1800s and early 20th Century， but then a shift happens and the freedom of the press triumphs over privacy for several decades。 Finally， in the 21st century， we’ve seen courts begin to rule more in favor of privacy again。 Gajda doesn’t really explore why this shift happens， but it’s interesting to consider。 Although I found it a bit dry and repetitive in places and thought that the historical review could have been abbreviated， I found this book really informative and would recommend。 。。。more
Andréa
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