Controlling Knowledge: Freedom Of Information And Privacy Protection In A Networked World

Description

Digital communications technology has immeasurably enhanced our capacity to store, retrieve, and exchange information. But who controls our access to information, and who decides what others have a right to know about us? In Controlling Knowledge, author Lorna Stefanick offers a thought-provoking and user-friendly overview of the regulatory regime that currently governs freedom of information and the protection of privacy.Aiming to clarify rather than mystify, Stefanick outlines the history and application of FOIP legislation, with special focus on how these laws affect the individual. To illustrate the impact of FOIP, she examines the notion of informed consent, looks at concerns about surveillance in the digital age, and explores the sometimes insidious influence of Facebook. Specialists in public policy and public administration, information technology, communications, law, criminal justice, sociology, and health care will find much here that bears directly on their work, while students and general readers will welcome the 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 seeking to understand how freedom of information and privacy protection are legally defined and how this legislation is shaping our individual rights as citizens of the information age. Front Matter ......Page 2 Table of Contents ......Page 8 Preface and Acknowledgements......Page 10 Accessing and Protecting Electronic Data......Page 14 Accountability and Autonomy......Page 18 Unpacking the Concepts......Page 21 Transparency, Privacy, and Good Governance......Page 26 Overview of the Book......Page 36 The Many Dimensions of Privacy......Page 42 The March Toward Regulation......Page 50 Data Flow, the Thirst for Information, and the Problems of Privacy Protection......Page 59 Privacy Protection, Personal Autonomy, and Control......Page 72 Transparency for the Public Good......Page 76 The March Toward Regulation......Page 84 Administrative Practice: Challenges to the Culture of Openness......Page 92 Information Access, Equity, and Fairness......Page 106 The Special Case of Health Information......Page 110 Electronic Health Records......Page 112 Privacy and Confidentiality......Page 116 Secondary Uses of Medical Information......Page 124 Managing Health Information......Page 135 Surveillance as a Form of Social Control......Page 138 Modern Forms of Watching......Page 141 Whither Watching?......Page 168 The Creation of Online Personalities......Page 170 The Power and Perils of Virtual Communities......Page 175 Digital Identities, the Commodification of Personality, and the Backlash......Page 185 The Future of Facebook......Page 195 7. Balancing Freedom of Information and the Protection of Privacy......Page 200 Questions for Discussion......Page 210 Notes......Page 218 Selected Bibliography......Page 244 Index......Page 256