Nothing to Hide: The False Tradeoff between Privacy and Security [ハードカバー]

It's hard to get people to care about privacy and technology. Defeatism and denial are all too common. There is a bipartisan consensus for an expanding surveillance state. Some argue that good people don't need privacy: if you've got nothing to hide, why worry about governments or businesses looking through your business? Daniel J. Solove's new book, Nothing to Hide, shatters that myth. This book reaffirms the value of privacy, shows how endangered it is, and proposes real solutions.

So why should you worry about privacy, even if you've got "nothing to hide?" First, in an era of rampant overcriminalization, it's hard to know if you really are "clean." Recall Cardinal Richelieu's famous line, "If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him." Moreover, Solove shows that the "nothing to hide" caucus misunderstands privacy as merely a problem of an individual trying to conceal something they don't want others to know. What we really should be thinking about is a process of aggregation of data, where our lives become an open book for those powerful or rich enough to demand our profiles. Solove gives the example of a person buying a book on cancer, and a few weeks later purchasing a wig. What may have once looked like a vague interest in disease now crystallizes into a relative certainty that the person has, or knows someone, with cancer. Like tiny tiles fitted into a mosaic, any particular piece of data may not say all that much. But when they are put together, they can deeply influence how a person is perceived, and ultimately, how they are treated.

Solove's most striking contribution is to show us that the dichotomy between privacy and security is often a false one. As he argues toward the end of the book,

"Those who rush to embrace new technologies [of surveillance] fail to heed what I call the "Titanic Phenomenon." The designers of the Titanic had such hubris in its being unsinkable that they didn't have enough lifeboats. While many new security proposals have great upsides, proponents are not giving adequate thought to the consequences if they fail. These consequences can prove catastrophic."

Like lifeboats, the safeguards of auditing, transparency, and accountability that Solove recommends could do a lot to make our shiny new surveillance state safer and more responsive to the people it is supposed to be protecting. A parade of new sensors may inevitably eviscerate the narrow concept of "privacy as concealment." But Solove gives us a richer concept of privacy, as a right to self-determination, dignity, due process, and a fair hearing in an increasingly automated and alienating world. He also offers a robust roadmap for preserving it. This consistently fascinating and engaging book is a must-read for anyone affected by national security debates---that is, everyone

Solove has done it again: a fascinating and important work on privacy and national security that leaves no stone unturned and grips the reader with laugh-our-loud moments. Nothing to Hide highlights the stakes in our national security agenda with serious insight and deep analysis. Solove takes apart the arguments and assumptions animating current surveillance efforts, and in a story-telling style, helps us appreciate the full range of their costs and benefits. Solove gives us a set of tools to understand and critically assess emerging technologies of surveillance like the TSA body scans, fusion centers, and the like. A must read!

As the Patriot Act recently obtained extended life and national discussion again (this time very briefly) focused on security, we as a nation appeared prepared to accept the loss of privacy as a necessary price to pay for our safety. If you read Solove's fine work you will see that security and privacy are not mutually exclusive: there are sensible ways to have it both ways -- increased security while preserving what we have always considered to be among our basic rights, privacy. Solove influentially dispenses with superficial cocktail party arguments and shows us that there is too much at stake to too easily sacrifice a cherished value of a democratic society.