"Life After Privacy": Firmin DeBrabander's Warnings About Surveillance & Democracy

You don't have to spend a lot of time on the Internet to know that these days, practically every move we make online is watched and recorded by marketers, security firms, scammers and a growing cast of unseen tech agents. People say they are worried about their privacy, but given how much personal data we routinely share on social media and online shopping sites, are we worried enough? In a sobering new book, MICA philosophy professor Firmin DeBrabander makes it clear that the tech companies have no problem whatsoever in learning a lot about each of us, and that their power to do so poses a serious threat to our democracy. The capacity to track what we buy, where we go, and who we align with socially and politically is astounding, and troubling. The scope of the information that tech entities have acquired about us, and the profits that are made by harvesting and manipulating that information, are huge, and the possibility of abuse and malfeasance is ever-present...Professor DeBrabander's new book is called Life After Privacy: Reclaiming Democracy in a Surveillance Society, and in it, he explores the ramifications of privacy as we know it in this age, and how it has been considered throughout the ages. DeBrabander will also be talking about his book at a free online event on November 12, from 7-8pm, for the Enoch Pratt Library's Writers Live! series. For a link to the event, click here.Firmin DeBrabander joins Tom today on Zoom…Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.