This book is a great introduction to the rapidly growing field of information privacy law. Although it is a casebook designed for classroom instruction, it also serves as a terrific reference tool for lawyers in the field, especially given the field's lack of reference books. The text has broad coverage, including privacy issues about the media, law enforcement, health and genetic data, computers, the Internet, email, anonymity, and the workplace. It also has a chapter on international privacy law. It covers the privacy torts, constitutional protections, FTC enforcement, federal statutes, HIPAA regulations, EU Data Protection Directive, and more. The book is tightly edited; and it provides copious background and explanatory notes. All of the major privacy statutes are explained thoroughly and clearly -- for this alone, the book is worth purchasing! The book is the best synthesis of the field I have yet encountered. If you deal with information privacy law issues, this book is an indispensable reference tool!

This is the standard compilation of privacy laws from the USA and other countries. EPIC is an advocacy group that supports stronger laws protecting individuals' privacy. (Interestingly, EPIC recently resigned as an Amazon.com affiliate to protest recent changes in Amazon's information practices.) But the EPIC Sourcebook is entirely objective. Most of the documents collected in this book are available free via the web, but it is much easier to use them in printed form, and editor Marc Rotenberg has done a wonderful job selecting the relevant laws. Besides, the Sourcebook is quite reasonably priced. EPIC seems to have gone to an annual revision cycle, which may be overkill, but it is nice to have an up-to-date collection of privacy laws available. My only criticisms: there are a few very minor omissions, and EPIC's order fulfillment isn't very fast (probably because it's a relatively small nonprofit organization) -- and Amazon apparently orders this book directly from EPIC on demand. For more information on this book, including the table of contents, you can go directly to EPIC's web site (unfortunately, Amazon's review guidelines prohibit me from including the URL here)

This book is somewhat slanted toward "technology is bad" but not excessively so. The focus is on political issues and opinions. How well one likes these chapters depends on one's political leaning; few of the chapters manage to be balanced. The one chapter on technical matters is a nice but simple introduction to computer security. Many chapters have long reference lists for further study.

From Virginia Postrel's pollyannish embrace of technology to Reg Whitakers musings of government devolving power (the state withering away-an old notion yet to be validated by experience) to Jerry Furland's utterly terrifying vision, this latest entry, "Technology and Privacy: The New Landscape" at least allows that the jury is still out on this issue. Except for Furland, ("Transfer-the end of the beginning")each falls short of addressing what one can "DO" with this new technology and actually provides a credible blueprint in novel form. I recommend each of these authors, but I put my money on Furland being right.