Description
Book SynopsisDigital communications technology has immeasurably enhanced ourcapacity to store, retrieve, and exchange information. But who controlsour access to information, and who decides what others have a right toknow about us? In Controlling Knowledge, author LornaStefanick offers a thought-provoking and user-friendly overview of theregulatory regime that currently governs freedom of information and theprotection of privacy.
Aiming to clarify rather than mystify, Stefanick outlines thehistory and application of FOIP legislation, with special focus on howthese laws affect the individual. To illustrate the impact of FOIP, sheexamines the notion of informed consent, looks at concerns aboutsurveillance in the digital age, and explores the sometimes insidiousinfluence of Facebook. Specialists in public policy and publicadministration, information technology, communications, law, criminaljustice, sociology, and health care will find much here that bearsdirectly on their work, while students and general readers will welcomethe book’s down-to-earth language and accessible style.
Intended to serve as a “citizen’s guide,”Controlling Knowledge is a vital resource for anyone seekingto understand how freedom of information and privacy protection arelegally defined and how this legislation is shaping our individualrights as citizens of the information age.
Table of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements ... ix
1. An Introduction to Freedom of Information and PrivacyProtection ... 1
Accessing and Protecting Electronic Data ... 1
Accountability and Autonomy ... 5
Unpacking the Concepts ... 8
Transparency, Privacy, and Good Governance ... 13
Overview of the Book ... 23
2. Privacy Protection ... 29
The Many Dimensions of Privacy ... 29
The March Toward Regulation ... 37
Data Flow, the Thirst for Information, and the Problems of
Privacy Protection ... 46
Privacy Protection, Personal Autonomy, and Control ... 59
3. Freedom of Information (FOI) ... 63
Transparency for the Public Good ... 63
The March Toward Regulation ... 71
Administrative Practice: Challenges to the Culture of Openness ... 79
Information Access, Equity, and Fairness ... 93
4.Sharing Medical Information: Antidote or Bitter Pill? ... 97
The Special Case of Health Information ... 97
Electronic Health Records ... 99
Privacy and Confidentiality ... 103
Secondary Uses of Medical Information ... 111
Managing Health Information ... 122
5. Surveillance in the Digital Age ... 125
Surveillance as a Form of Social Control ... 125
Modern Forms of Watching ... 128
Whither Watching? ... 155
6. Social Networking: The Case of Facebook ... 157
The Creation of Online Personalities ... 157
The Power and Perils of Virtual Communities ... 162
Digital Identities, the Commodification of Personality, and theBacklash ... 172
The Future of Facebook ... 182
7. Balancing Freedom of Information and the Protection ofPrivacy ... 187
Questions for Discussion ... 197
Notes ... 205
Selected Bibliography ... 231
Index ... 243
