Privacy is one of the most urgent issues associated with information technology and digital media. This book claims that what people really care about when they complain and protest that privacy has been violated is not the act of sharing information itself-most people understand that this is crucial to social life -but the inappropriate, improper sharing of information. Arguing that privacy concerns should not be limited solely to concern about control over personal information, Helen Nissenbaum counters that information ought to be distributed and protected according to norms governing distinct social contexts-whether it be workplace, health care, schools, or among family and friends. She warns that basic distinctions between public and private, informing many current privacy policies, in fact obscure more than they clarify. In truth, contemporary information systems should alarm us only when they function without regard for social norms and values, and thereby weaken the fabric of social life.
"Privacy in Context is a major achievement. ... Grounded in extensive knowledge of the theoretical literature and a real engagement with the practicalities of informational instability that surround us, Nissenbaum's new framing of the tensions raised by surveillance and processing of information is important."
Yochai Benkler, Harvard University
"[S]ubtle and important ... There is no doubt that Nissenbaum thinks with the learned ... Before the book appeared Nissenbaum's work on privacy was already well respected and widely cited. The present book should seal her reputation as one of a handful of leading privacy theorists today. My guess is that the book will be required reading for a long while to come..."
Tony Doyle, Journal of Value Inquiry
"This much anticipated book, written by one of the world's most brilliant, dynamic philosophers of technology, offers a model for predicting and explaining privacy breaches. It also furnishes pragmatic solutions for resolving policy disputes about newly proposed socio-technical information systems. It solves puzzles not easily resolved by traditional privacy theory..."
Ian Kerr, Canada Research Chair in Ethics, Law and Technology, University of Ottawa
