Privacy, Security and Accountability: Ethics, Law and Policy

What is the appropriate balance between privacy, security, and accountability? What do we owe each other in terms of information sharing and access? Why is privacy valuable and is it more or less important than other values like security or free speech? Is Edward Snowden a hero or villain?

Within democratic societies, privacy, security, and accountability are seen as important values that must be balanced appropriately. If there is too much privacy, then there may be too little accountability – and more alarmingly, too little security. On the other hand, where there is too little privacy, individuals may not have the space to grow, experiment, and engage in practices not generally accepted by the majority. Moreover, allowing overly limited control over access to and uses of private places and information may itself be a threat to security.

By clarifying the moral, legal, and social foundations of privacy, security, and accountability, this book helps determine the appropriate balance between these contested values. Twelve specially commissioned essays provide the ideal resource for students and academics in information and applied ethics.

Adam Moore is an Associate Professor in the Information School at the University of Washington. He is the author of Privacy Rights: Moral and Legal Foundations (2010), Intellectual Property and Information Control(2001) and editor of Information Ethics: Privacy, Property, and Power (2005) andIntellectual Property: Moral, Legal, and International Dilemmas(1997).

Contributors:
Anita L. Allen, Henry R. Silverman Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy, University of Pennsylvania Law School, USA; Helen Nissenbaum, Professor, Information Law Institute, New York University, USA; James Stacy Taylor, Associate Professor of Philosophy, The College of New Jersey, USA; Judith Wagner DeCew, Professor of Philosophy, Clark University, USA; Dorota Mokrosinska, Research Fellow, University of the Netherlands; Annabelle Lever, Associate Professor, University of Geneva, Switzerland;
Kay Mathieson, Assistant Professor, University of Arizona, USA; Kenneth Himma, Visiting Professor, Law School, University of Washington, USA; Alan Rubel, Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin, USA; Bryce C. Newell, Tilburg, University/University of Washington, USA; Mike Katell, Information School and the Tech Policy Lab, University of Washington; Nadine Strossen, Professor of Law, New York Law School, USA