The Digital Person and the Future of Privacy

Abstract

This chapter, based on Professor Solove’s book, The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the Information Age (NYU Press 2004), explores the social, political, and legal implications of the collection and use of personal information in computer databases. In the Information Age, our lives are documented in digital dossiers maintained by a multitude of businesses and government agencies. These dossiers are composed of bits of our personal information, which when assembled together begin to paint a portrait of our personalities. The dossiers are increasingly used to make decisions about our lives — whether we get a loan, a mortgage, a license, or a job; whether we are investigated or arrested; and whether we are permitted to fly on an airplane. In this chapter, Solove explores the implications of these developments and sets forth a new understanding of privacy, one that is appropriate for the challenges of the Information Age.

J.D. Yale, 1997. This chapter is based on an article that was printed in The Chronicle of Higher Education (Dec. 10, 2004), which was adapted from Professor Solove’s book, The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the Information Age (NYU Press 2004).