Controlling Knowledge Freedom of Information and Privacy Protection in a Networked World

Digital communications technology has immeasurably enhanced our capacity to store, retrieve, and exchange information. But who controls our access to information, and who decides what others have a right to know about us? In Controlling Knowledge, author Lorna Stefanick offers a thought-provoking and user-friendly overview of the regulatory regime that currently governs freedom of information and the protection of privacy.Aiming to clarify rather than mystify, Stefanick outlines the history and application of FOIP legislation, with special focus on how these laws affect the individual. To illustrate the impact of FOIP, she examines the notion of informed consent, looks at concerns about surveillance in the digital age, and explores the sometimes insidious influence of Facebook. Specialists in public policy and public administration, information technology, communications, law, criminal justice, sociology, and health care will find much here that bears directly on their work, while students and general readers will welcome the book’s down-to-earth language and accessible style.

Intended to serve as a “citizen’s guide,” Controlling Knowledge is a vital resource for anyone seeking to understand how freedom of information and privacy protection are legally defined and how this legislation is shaping our individual rights as citizens of the information age.

About the Author

Lorna Stefanick is an associate professor in the Governance, Law, and Management program in the Centre for State and Legal Studies at Athabasca University.

Table of Contents

1. Preface and Acknowledgements
2. Chapter 1. An Introduction to Freedom of Information and Privacy Protection
   1. Accessing and Protecting Electronic Data
   2. Accountability and Autonomy
   3. Unpacking the Concepts
   4. Transparency, Privacy, and Good Governance
   5. Overview of the Book
3. Chapter 2. Privacy Protection
   1. The Many Dimensions of Privacy
   2. The March Toward Regulation
   3. Data Flow, the Thirst for Information, and the Problems of Privacy Protection
   4. Privacy Protection, Personal Autonomy, and Control
4. Chapter 3. Freedom of Information (FOI)
   1. Transparency for the Public Good
   2. The March Toward Regulation
   3. Administrative Practice: Challenges to the Culture of Openness
   4. Information Access, Equity, and Fairness
5. Chapter 4. Sharing Medical Information: Antidote or Bitter Pill?
   1. The Special Case of Health Information
   2. Electronic Health Records
   3. Privacy and Confidentiality
   4. Secondary Uses of Medical Information
   5. Managing Health Information
6. Chapter 5. Surveillance in the Digital Age
   1. Surveillance as a Form of Social Control
   2. Modern Forms of Watching
   3. Whither Watching?
7. Chapter 6. Social Networking: The Case of Facebook
   1. The Creation of Online Personalities
   2. The Power and Perils of Virtual Communities
   3. Digital Identities, the Commodification of Personality, and the Backlash
   4. The Future of Facebook
8. Chapter 7. Balancing Freedom of Information and the Protection of Privacy
9. Questions for Discussion
10. Notes / Selected Bibliography / Index

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.5 CA). It may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, provided that the original author is credited.