The Internet Police

The Internet Police: How Crime Went Online, and the Cops Followed by Nate Anderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

I found this book interesting but sadly out of date. It was published in 2013 and quite a bit of technological innovation regarding the internet had happened since that time. It does, however, do a pretty good job or providing a historical basis for police and government involvement with the internet and suggests further that over time, innovations back then have likely eroded personal freedom and privacy to a large extent. Although not specifically stating it, the author appears to make the case for the existence of a significant disconnect between normal citizens and the government that rules them. Although not alarmist, one can sense a certain unease being felt by the author and it is conceivable that were a new edition of this book to be published, it would suggest that perhaps personal privacy was in serious jeopardy.

Note: a more recent edition does exist but it appears to be from 2014 while the one I read was 2013. I doubt that even a year is sufficient to cover all the things that are ongoing now.

The book is well written and interesting. Despite being a little out of date it provides a nice historical reference for internet policing.





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