The Privacy Fallacy: Harm and Power in the Information Economy [Paperback]

Uncovers why privacy laws fail at protecting us from corporate data harms and charts a path for reform.Explains how privacy laws are overridden by technology companies and how they can be improved. Drawing from behavioral science, psychology, sociology, and economics, the book dispels misconceptions that trap us into ineffective approaches to growing digital harms. It then develops solutions based on corporate accountability.Explains how privacy laws are overridden by technology companies and how they can be improved. Drawing from behavioral science, psychology, sociology, and economics, the book dispels misconceptions that trap us into ineffective approaches to growing digital harms. It then develops solutions based on corporate accountability.Our privacy is besieged by tech companies. Companies can do this because our laws are built on outdated ideas that trap lawmakers, regulators, and courts into wrong assumptions about privacy, resulting in ineffective legal remedies to one of the most pressing concerns of our generation. Drawing on behavioral science, sociology, and economics, Ignacio Cofone challenges existing laws and reform proposals and dispels enduring misconceptions about data-driven interactions. This exploration offers readers a holistic view of why current laws and regulations fail to protect us against corporate digital harms, particularly those created by AI. Cofone then proposes a better response: meaningful accountability for the consequences of corporate data practices, which ultimately entails creating a new type of liability that recognizes the value of privacy.Introduction; 1. The traditionalist approach to privacy; 2. The privacy myths: rationality and apathy; 3. The consent illusion; 4. Manipulation by design; 5. Traditionalist data protection rules; 6. Pervasive data harms; 7. Privacy as corporate accountability; Conclusion.To protect privacy in the digital age, Ignacio Cofone argues, we must rethink privacy harms. These harms are social alð