The End of Privacy: How Total Surveillance Is Becoming a Reality

by Reg Whitaker

The Information Revolution and the rise of the networked society are reconstituting the structures of power on a global scale. In The End of Privacy, Reg Whitaker, a leading expert on government surveillance, shows that these developments pose dramatic new threats to personal privacy. Reg Whitaker shows how vast amounts of personal information are moving into corporate hands. Once there, this data can be combined and used to develop electronic profiles of individuals and groups that are potentially far more detailed, and far more intrusive, than the files built up in the past by state police and security agencies.

Genres: Nonfiction

195 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Arthur Ruiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s pretty outdated at this point but it was really engaging and interesting. I especially liked the section about artificial intelligence/cyborgs/the future of technology and biology, since the other stuff was a little further out of my wheelhouse (not that I’m a robot expert or anything). Anyway, I recommend this book if you like books that give you a lot of information with a lot of high level concepts, and I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re just looking for an easy read. It took me a lot of months to get all the way through, and I read an hour a day at school. Reason being, I had to switch to a different book every other day or so because of how dense it can be. But it was a really rewarding read, and I do recommend it if you think you’re up to it.

[Bob Bello · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember that in 2000 this book made a lot of noise about predicted our future, BUT now nobody cares about it because spying-and-spamming is the heart of business. For example, today if you search the web for shoes, write an email about shoes, or just talk over the phone about shoes, your phone and computer are immediately flooded with ads about shoes. Try to have a confidential talk about private issues, business proposals, or copyrighted material. Unfortunately, this is only the beginning. Anything else I say will be a spoiler, so read the book and good luck trying to save your "pre-smartphone" privacy. And turn off your smartwatch when you go to bed before it starts recording your dreams ;-)

[Chris Chaos · Rating 3 out of 5]

So 1984