View the Table of Contents.
Read the Introduction.

aThis comprehensive analysis of privacy in the information age challenges traditional assumptions that breeches of privacy through the development of electronic dossiers involve the invasion of oneas private space.a
--"Choice"

"The Digital Person challenges the existing ways in which law and legal theory approach the social, political, and legal implications of the collection and use of personal information in computer databases. Solove's book is ambitious, and represents the most important publication in the field of information privacy law for some years."
--"Georgetown Law Journal"

"Anyone concerned with preserving privacy against technology's growing intrusiveness will find this book enlightening."
--"Publishers Weekly"

"Solove . . . truly understands the intersection of law and technology. This book is a fascinating journey into the almost surreal ways personal information is hoarded, used, and abused in the digital age."
--"The Wall Street Journal"

"Daniel Solove is one of the most energetic and creative scholars writing about privacy today. The Digital Person is an important contribution to the privacy debate, and Solove's discussion of the harms of what he calls 'digital dossiers' is invaluable."
--Jeffrey Rosen, author of "The Unwanted Gaze" and "The Naked Crowd"

"Powerful theme."
--"Privacy Journal"

"This is not only a book you should read, but you should make sure your friends read it."
--"IEEE Review"

"Solove offers a book that is both comprehensive and easy to understand, discussing the changes that technology has brought to our concept of privacy. An excellentstarting point for much needed discussion."
--"Law Technology News"

"An unusually perceptive discussion of one of the most vexing problems of the digital age--our loss of control over our personal information. It's a fascinating journey into the almost surreal ways personal information is hoarded, used, and abused in the digital age. I recommend his book highly."
--Bruce Schneier

"Solove's book is the best exposition thus far about the threat that computer databases containing personal data about millions of Americans poses for information privacy."
--Pamela Samuelson, Chancellor's Professor of Law and Information Management at the University of California, Berkeley

"Solove drives his points home through considerable reconfiguration of the basic argument. Rather than casting blame or urging retreat to a precomputer database era, the solution is seen in informing individuals, challenging data collectors, and bringing the law up-to-date."
--"Choice"

"If you want to find out what a mess the law of privacy is, how it got that way, and whether there is hope for the future, then read this book."
--"Legal Times"

"Solove evaluates the shortcomings of current approaches to privacy as well as some useful and controversial ideas for striking a new balance. Anyone who deals with privacy matters will find a lot ot consider."
--"DM News"

"Solove's treatment of this particular facet is thoughtful, thorough, concise, and occasionally laced with humor. The present volume gives us reason to look forward to his future contributions."
--"The Law and Politics Book Review"

"Solove's book is useful, particularly as an overview on how these private and governmentdatabases grew in sophistication and now interact with one another."
--"Christian Science Monitor"

"A far-reaching examination of how digital dossiers are shaping our lives. Daniel Solove has persuasively reconceptualized privacy for the digital age. A must-read."
--Paul Schwartz, Brooklyn Law School

"The Digital Person is a detailed and approachable resource on privacy issues and the laws that affect them."
--"IT Conversations"

Seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, electronic databases are compiling information about you. As you surf the Internet, an unprecedented amount of your personal information is being recorded and preserved forever in the digital minds of computers. For each individual, these databases create a profile of activities, interests, and preferences used to investigate backgrounds, check credit, market products, and make a wide variety of decisions affecting our lives. The creation and use of these databases--which Daniel J. Solove calls "digital dossiers"--has thus far gone largely unchecked. In this startling account of new technologies for gathering and using personal data, Solove explains why digital dossiers pose a grave threat to our privacy.

The Digital Person sets forth a new understanding of what privacy is, one that is appropriate for the new challenges of the Information Age. Solove recommends how the law can be reformed to simultaneously protect our privacy and allow us to enjoy the benefits of our increasingly digital world.

The first volume in the series EX MACHINA: LAW, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY

Privacy is one of the most important concepts of our time, yet it is also one of the most elusive. As rapidly changing technology makes information increasingly available, scholars, activists, and policymakers have struggled to define privacy, with many conceding that the task is virtually impossible.

In this concise and lucid book, Daniel J. Solove offers a comprehensive overview of the difficulties involved in discussions of privacy and ultimately provides a provocative resolution. He argues that no single definition can be workable, but rather that there are multiple forms of privacy, related to one another by family resemblances. His theory bridges cultural differences and addresses historical changes in views on privacy. Drawing on a broad array of interdisciplinary sources, Solove sets forth a framework for understanding privacy that provides clear, practical guidance for engaging with relevant issues.

"Understanding Privacy" will be an essential introduction to long-standing debates and an invaluable resource for crafting laws and policies about surveillance, data mining, identity theft, state involvement in reproductive and marital decisions, and other pressing contemporary matters concerning privacy.

What information about you is available on the Internet? What if it's wrong, humiliating, or true but regrettable? Will it ever go away? Teeming with chatrooms, online discussion groups, and blogs, the Internet offers previously unimagined opportunities for personal expression and communication. But there's a dark side to the story. A trail of information fragments about us is forever preserved on the Internet, instantly available in a Google search. A permanent chronicle of our private lives-often of dubious reliability and sometimes totally false-will follow us wherever we go, accessible to friends, strangers, dates, employers, neighbors, relatives, and anyone else who cares to look. This engrossing book, brimming with amazing examples of gossip, slander, and rumor on the Internet, explores the profound implications of the online collision between free speech and privacy. Daniel Solove, an authority on information privacy law, offers a fascinating account of how the Internet is transforming gossip, the way we shame others, and our ability to protect our own reputations. Focusing on blogs, Internet communities, cybermobs, and other current trends, he shows that, ironically, the unconstrained flow of information on the Internet may impede opportunities for self-development and freedom. Long-standing notions of privacy need review, the author contends: unless we establish a balance between privacy and free speech, we may discover that the freedom of the Internet makes us less free.

Teeming with chatrooms, online discussion groups, and blogs, the Internet offers previously unimagined opportunities for personal expression and communication. But there's a dark side to the story. A trail of information fragments about us is forever preserved on the Internet, instantly available in a Google search. A permanent chronicle of our private lives--often of dubious reliability and sometimes totally false--will follow us wherever we go, accessible to friends, strangers, dates, employers, neighbors, relatives, and anyone else who cares to look. This engrossing book, brimming with amazing examples of gossip, slander, and rumor on the Internet, explores the profound implications of the online collision between free speech and privacy.
Daniel Solove, an authority on information privacy law, offers a fascinating account of how the Internet is transforming gossip, the way we shame others, and our ability to protect our own reputations. Focusing on blogs, Internet communities, cybermobs, and other current trends, he shows that, ironically, the unconstrained flow of information on the Internet may impede opportunities for self-development and freedom. Long-standing notions of privacy need review, the author contends: unless we establish a balance between privacy and free speech, we may discover that the freedom of the Internet makes us less free.

View the Table of Contents.
Read the Introduction.

aThis comprehensive analysis of privacy in the information age challenges traditional assumptions that breeches of privacy through the development of electronic dossiers involve the invasion of oneas private space.a
--"Choice"

"The Digital Person challenges the existing ways in which law and legal theory approach the social, political, and legal implications of the collection and use of personal information in computer databases. Solove's book is ambitious, and represents the most important publication in the field of information privacy law for some years."
--"Georgetown Law Journal"

"Anyone concerned with preserving privacy against technology's growing intrusiveness will find this book enlightening."
--"Publishers Weekly"

"Solove . . . truly understands the intersection of law and technology. This book is a fascinating journey into the almost surreal ways personal information is hoarded, used, and abused in the digital age."
--"The Wall Street Journal"

"Daniel Solove is one of the most energetic and creative scholars writing about privacy today. The Digital Person is an important contribution to the privacy debate, and Solove's discussion of the harms of what he calls 'digital dossiers' is invaluable."
--Jeffrey Rosen, author of "The Unwanted Gaze" and "The Naked Crowd"

"Powerful theme."
--"Privacy Journal"

"This is not only a book you should read, but you should make sure your friends read it."
--"IEEE Review"

"Solove offers a book that is both comprehensive and easy to understand, discussing the changes that technology has brought to our concept of privacy. An excellentstarting point for much needed discussion."
--"Law Technology News"

"An unusually perceptive discussion of one of the most vexing problems of the digital age--our loss of control over our personal information. It's a fascinating journey into the almost surreal ways personal information is hoarded, used, and abused in the digital age. I recommend his book highly."
--Bruce Schneier

"Solove's book is the best exposition thus far about the threat that computer databases containing personal data about millions of Americans poses for information privacy."
--Pamela Samuelson, Chancellor's Professor of Law and Information Management at the University of California, Berkeley

"Solove drives his points home through considerable reconfiguration of the basic argument. Rather than casting blame or urging retreat to a precomputer database era, the solution is seen in informing individuals, challenging data collectors, and bringing the law up-to-date."
--"Choice"

"If you want to find out what a mess the law of privacy is, how it got that way, and whether there is hope for the future, then read this book."
--"Legal Times"

"Solove evaluates the shortcomings of current approaches to privacy as well as some useful and controversial ideas for striking a new balance. Anyone who deals with privacy matters will find a lot ot consider."
--"DM News"

"Solove's treatment of this particular facet is thoughtful, thorough, concise, and occasionally laced with humor. The present volume gives us reason to look forward to his future contributions."
--"The Law and Politics Book Review"

"Solove's book is useful, particularly as an overview on how these private and governmentdatabases grew in sophistication and now interact with one another."
--"Christian Science Monitor"

"A far-reaching examination of how digital dossiers are shaping our lives. Daniel Solove has persuasively reconceptualized privacy for the digital age. A must-read."
--Paul Schwartz, Brooklyn Law School

"The Digital Person is a detailed and approachable resource on privacy issues and the laws that affect them."
--"IT Conversations"

Seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, electronic databases are compiling information about you. As you surf the Internet, an unprecedented amount of your personal information is being recorded and preserved forever in the digital minds of computers. For each individual, these databases create a profile of activities, interests, and preferences used to investigate backgrounds, check credit, market products, and make a wide variety of decisions affecting our lives. The creation and use of these databases--which Daniel J. Solove calls "digital dossiers"--has thus far gone largely unchecked. In this startling account of new technologies for gathering and using personal data, Solove explains why digital dossiers pose a grave threat to our privacy.

The Digital Person sets forth a new understanding of what privacy is, one that is appropriate for the new challenges of the Information Age. Solove recommends how the law can be reformed to simultaneously protect our privacy and allow us to enjoy the benefits of our increasingly digital world.

The first volume in the series EX MACHINA: LAW, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY