Read more
Our privacy is besieged by tech companies. Companies can do this because our laws are built on outdated ideas that trap lawmakers, regulators, and courts into wrong assumptions about privacy, resulting in ineffective legal remedies to one of the most pressing concerns of our generation. Drawing on behavioral science, sociology, and economics, Ignacio Cofone challenges existing laws and reform proposals and dispels enduring misconceptions about data-driven interactions. This exploration offers readers a holistic view of why current laws and regulations fail to protect us against corporate digital harms, particularly those created by AI. Cofone then proposes a better response: meaningful accountability for the consequences of corporate data practices, which ultimately entails creating a new type of liability that recognizes the value of privacy.
List of contents
Introduction; 1. The traditionalist approach to privacy; 2. The privacy myths: rationality and apathy; 3. The consent illusion; 4. Manipulation by design; 5. Traditionalist data protection rules; 6. Pervasive data harms; 7. Privacy as corporate accountability; Conclusion.
About the author
Ignacio Cofone is the Canada Research Chair in A.I. Law & Data Governance at McGill University and an Affiliated Fellow at the Yale Law School Information Society Project. He writes about how the law should adapt to technological and economic change with a focus on privacy and AI.
Report
'To protect privacy in the digital age, Ignacio Cofone argues, we must rethink privacy harms. These harms are social and systemic as well as individual, and they will not be remedied by market and contractual approaches. This beautifully written book is an excellent introduction to problems of digital exploitation that affect everyone.' Jack Balkin, Yale Law School
