Privacy: The Lost Right

Abstract

The right of privacy is disappearing in today's society. This book describes the evolution of legal theory of privacy and remedies to protect privacy. It compares the evolution of those legal theories to the revolution in technologies, cultural habits, governmental policies, and economic incentives that support an intrusive society. Privacy: The Lost Right chronicles decreases in privacy caused by government, the modern press, data brokers and private individuals, and by individuals' general lack of understanding about today's intrusive world. The author, Jon Mills, an attorney, Professor of law, and Director of the Center for Government Responsibility at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, details challenges to personal privacy, and the current tools available to prevent and remedy privacy intrusions. He examines constitutional, statutory, tort, and property law remedies for invasion of privacy, and the use of these remedies in real-world case examples. Mills uses specific cases dealing with press, government, and citizen intrusion to provide a vivid context of harm caused. He also uses cases in which he was an attorney and provides insights on those cases and the actual impacts of intrusions. Ultimately, Mills concludes protections for privacy have failed and the vast majority of the public is underinformed about intrusions.

Keywords: intrusion, Internet, Constitution, newsworthiness, security, media, government, tort, law, technology