Friday, June 16, 2017

I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did

I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy
© 2013 Lori Andrews
272 pages



Think about what you put on facebook. If you're like most people,  there is something in your photos, comments, likes, etc. that could get you into trouble.  I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did  explores the many ways that social networking websites expose individuals to physical and legal abuse. Written by an attorney,  the book has a legal emphasis, with many chapters on how publicly-visible facebook posts can prejudice judges against one claimant over another, or function as evidence not admitted in court when jurors begin googling people.   In many of the instances recorded here, the exposure comes not from people being careless, but from sites' privacy settings being adjusted without their knowing -- or because technology was being used to switch on their webcams without their awareness. Because of this, the author argues for a 'constitution' that would govern 'facebook nation', in essence a digital bill of rights protecting people.  Having read Future Crimes and Data and Goliath,  this was old hat for me, but a distilled reminder is always a good thing.  The catchy title and comparative slimness might draw in readers who ignore those other works, as well.    Very few congressional officials seem to know anything about cybersecurity, so I doubt we'll have a cyber bill of rights any time soon -- especially when easy violations of privacy serve the national security state so well.   In the meantime all we can do is stay paranoid.

14 comments:

  1. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that people aren't out to get you! Scary stuff and even more so because we do it to ourselves. I have a lot of this sort of thing in the pipeline & I'm sure that I'll have a few you haven't come across yet. Definitely an area to be regularly data mined! [grin]

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mined, collated, and analyzed!

      I have 2 more books in the internet vein, although that itch is finally running itself out. They are "Consent of the Networked" and "Who Owns the Internet?"

      Delete
    2. Interesting as always that we often read different books on the same subject.... [muses]

      Delete
    3. Do you use amazon to find related books on a subject? I ask because I wonder if perhaps Amazon UK and Amazon US produce different 'related books' for a given book, depending on the local markets.

      Delete
    4. Yes, I use Amazon a lot when searching for new books to buy. It's possible that the UK and US ends of the market give different results. Plus, as we have different interests and foci we're probably zeroing in on different books that we're being offered.

      Delete
  2. Thus, I avoid Facebook and Twitter, and should probably be more careful with Blogger. 'Tis a dangerous brave new world in which we live. Thanks for frightening me with your review.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's too late for me to avoid facebook altogether, but I minimize damage by not "liking" anything, not providing info, and only posting pictures of buildings and such.

      Delete
    2. Never joined. No intention of ever doing so. Even if it becomes compulsory! [lol]

      Delete
    3. Well, back when I joined, it was strictly for college students. It was far from the end-all, be-all of the social web like it seems to be now..

      Delete
    4. Facebook goes against some of my core beliefs (long, and no doubt boring, story). I've been asked (and invited) to join by several people and, I think, ALL of my friends are on it. Apparently by NOT being on it I'm being difficult, contrary and, well... ME! [lol]

      Delete
    5. I was on Facebook a number of years ago, but I lost interest after a few months and closed my account. At least, I think my account was closed, but who knows nowadays. . .

      Delete
    6. @Fred: As far as I know, you have to deactivate your account for 90 days and then formally request its permanent deletion -- but even then, who knows?

      @Cyberkitten: Perhaps you'll hint at those beliefs when you start posting your reviews! (I used to be much stricter about security...I can't help but notice I'm the only person commenting so far who uses their google profile picture!)

      Delete
    7. OH, that's YOU! i just thought it was some kind of decorative stamp or some such... nice, intelligent looking young savant you are... i always wished i had worked in a library, but that's probably because i never did it... still...

      Delete

Thank you for visiting! Because of some very clever spambots, I've had to start moderating comments more strictly, but they're approved throughout the day.