Unpopular Privacy

Can the government stick us with privacy we don't want? It can, it does, and according to Anita L. Allen, it may need to do more of it. Privacy is a foundational good, Allen argues, a necessary tool in the liberty-lover's kit for a successful life. A nation committed to personal freedom must be prepared to mandate inalienable, liberty-promoting privacies for its people, whether they eagerly embrace them or not. This unique book about seclusion, concealment, confidentiality and data-protection draws attention to just such unpopular forms of privacy--privacies disvalued by their intended beneficiaries and targets--and outlines the best reasons for imposing them, and the worst. Allen looks at laws designed to keep website operators from collecting personal information from young children, anti-nudity laws that force strippers to wear pasties and thongs, and the myriad employee and professional confidentiality rules--including insider trading laws--that require strict silence about matters whose disclosure could earn us small fortunes. She shows that such laws--and ethical rules of concealment currently strained by trends in media and technology--recognize the extraordinary importance of dignity, reputation, and trust, and help to preserve social, economic and political options throughout a lifetime.