ATG Book of the Week: I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy

Title: I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy

Author: Lori Andrews

ISBN: Hardcover: 9781451650518; Softcover: 9781451651058; Ebook  9781451651065
Price:Hardcover: $29.99;  ebook: $14.99; Softcover $18.99 (Jan. 2013)

Imprint: New York: Free Press, 2011

According to this book by Lori Andrews, “if Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest nation in the world; but while that nation appears to be a comforting small town, in which we socialize with our selective group of friends, it and the rest of the Web is actually a lawless frontier of hidden and unpredictable dangers. The same power of information that can topple governments can destroy a person’s career or marriage… She reveals the myriad ever more sophisticated techniques being used to track us and discloses how routinely colleges and employers reject applicants due to personal information searches; robbers use postings about vacations to target homes for break-ins; lawyers readily find information to use against us in divorce and child custody cases…”

This book is sure to challenge those like Sun Microsystems’ Scott McNealy who dismisses online privacy concerns saying  “You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it.”  It will also raise the eyebrows of people who up to this point have not felt threatened.

Kirkus Review: Authoritative, important reading for policymakers and an unnerving reminder that anything you post can and will be used against you.

Library Journal: “Bioethicist and biotechnology expert Andrews (law, Illinois Inst. of Technology; The Silent Assassin) delivers a broad-based exposé of the ramifications of the increasingly blurry boundary between our private and public selves… Verdict: Essential reading for anyone with a social media and networking service account.”