While technological threats to personal privacy have proliferated
rapidly, legislation designed to protect privacy has been slow and
incremental. In this study of legislative attempts to reconcile
privacy and technology, Priscilla Regan examines congressional
policy making in three key areas: computerized databases,
wiretapping, and polygraph testing. In each case, she argues,
legislation has represented an unbalanced compromise benefiting
those with a vested interest in new technology over those
advocating privacy protection.
Legislating Privacy explores
the dynamics of congressional policy formulation and traces the
limited response of legislators to the concept of privacy as a
fundamental individual right. According to Regan, we will need an
expanded understanding of the social value of privacy if we are to
achieve greater protection from emerging technologies such as
Caller ID and genetic testing. Specifically, she argues that a
recognition of the social importance of privacy will shift both the
terms of the policy debate and the patterns of interest-group
action in future congressional activity on privacy issues.
Originally published in 1995.
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