What will I learn about: Surveillance capitalism has turned personal data—once considered 'data exhaust'—into a highly profitable commodity used to influence your behavior and voting habits?

Surveillance capitalism has turned personal data—once considered 'data exhaust'—into a highly profitable commodity used to influence your behavior and voting habits.

What will I learn about: Everyday 'smart' objects, including tea kettles, cars, and even shoes, act as double agents that monitor your movements, health, and private conversations?

Everyday 'smart' objects, including tea kettles, cars, and even shoes, act as double agents that monitor your movements, health, and private conversations.

What will I learn about: The data economy was inaugurated by Google when it began using search history to build precise user profiles for third-party advertisers?

The data economy was inaugurated by Google when it began using search history to build precise user profiles for third-party advertisers.

What will I learn about: Opening a standard email can compromise your privacy, as roughly 40 percent of them contain trackers that identify you and follow your activity across the web?

Opening a standard email can compromise your privacy, as roughly 40 percent of them contain trackers that identify you and follow your activity across the web.

What will I learn about: The loss of privacy is a direct threat to personal autonomy and democracy, as your data is used to nudge you into financial and political decisions?

The loss of privacy is a direct threat to personal autonomy and democracy, as your data is used to nudge you into financial and political decisions.

Privacy Is Power

Why and How You Should Take Back Control of Your Data

Carissa Véliz

★ 4.5 / 5(226 ratings)

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Technology & the Future Politics

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

💡Why does the author compare personal data to a toxic substance like asbestos, and how do historical events prove that simply collecting this information can literally be a matter of life and death?
💡How are third-party companies using your digital footprint to calculate secret 'consumer scores,' and in what surprising ways are these hidden metrics used to actively discriminate against you in everyday life?
💡What specific realization did Google have in the year 2000 about 'data exhaust' that birthed modern surveillance capitalism, and why does the author argue that the resulting targeted advertising industry might actually be a massive waste of money?

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Key Takeaways from Privacy Is Power

✓Surveillance capitalism has turned personal data—once considered 'data exhaust'—into a highly profitable commodity used to influence your behavior and voting habits.
✓Everyday 'smart' objects, including tea kettles, cars, and even shoes, act as double agents that monitor your movements, health, and private conversations.
✓The data economy was inaugurated by Google when it began using search history to build precise user profiles for third-party advertisers.
✓Opening a standard email can compromise your privacy, as roughly 40 percent of them contain trackers that identify you and follow your activity across the web.
✓The loss of privacy is a direct threat to personal autonomy and democracy, as your data is used to nudge you into financial and political decisions.

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from Privacy Is Power

Mind Map

Privacy Is Power

Ubiquitous Surveillance+

Surveillance Capitalism+

How Data Weaponizes Power+

Data as a Toxic Substance+

Dismantling Big Tech's Narrative+

The Need for Strict Regulation+

Practical Steps for Digital Defense+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 8

According to the book, what surprising fact demonstrates the ubiquity of surveillance in our daily communications?

A. Over 90% of text messages are intercepted by third-party data brokers.
B. About 40 percent of emails contain trackers that monitor activity.
C. Smart TVs require a camera to function properly.
D. Internet service providers legally own the copyright to your personal emails.

Question 2 of 8

How did Google inaugurate the era of 'surveillance capitalism' in the early 2000s?

A. By charging users a subscription fee for premium search results.
B. By selling its search engine algorithm to government intelligence agencies.
C. By figuring out how to use 'data exhaust' from user searches to sell targeted advertisements.
D. By manufacturing smart devices like phones and TVs that collected household data.

Question 3 of 8

Besides targeted advertising and political influence, how else is personal data commonly used against consumers by third parties?

A. To create secret consumer rating scores that dictate things like customer service wait times and return eligibility.
B. To directly withdraw small, unnoticeable amounts of money from linked bank accounts.
C. To automatically enroll users in subscription services without any form of consent.
D. To legally confiscate physical property if a user violates a website's terms of service.

Question 4 of 8

Why does the author compare personal data to asbestos?

A. Because it is a physical resource that requires massive amounts of energy to extract and store.
B. Because both were heavily regulated by the government almost immediately after their discovery.
C. Because it is cheap to mine and highly useful, but ultimately a toxic commodity that can damage lives when leaked.
D. Because tech companies use it primarily to build physical infrastructure for server farms.

Question 5 of 8

What historical example does the author use to illustrate that the mere collection of personal data can be deadly?

A. The use of intercepted telegraph messages during the First World War.
B. The difference in Jewish survival rates during WWII based on whether a country's census recorded religion.
C. The tracking of political dissidents through early telephone switchboards in the Soviet Union.
D. The collection of medical records during the 1918 influenza pandemic to quarantine citizens.

Question 6 of 8

How does the failure of Google Glass contradict Big Tech's narrative about data privacy?

A. It proves that hardware is less profitable than software in the data economy.
B. It shows that technological development is a linear trajectory that cannot be stopped.
C. It demonstrates that public sentiment can successfully reject creepy technologies, proving that no technology is inevitable.
D. It reveals that government regulations are the only way to stop the development of new surveillance tools.

Question 7 of 8

According to the author, what is one of the primary legislative actions governments should take to heavily regulate the data economy?

A. Ban the practice of targeted advertising entirely.
B. Force tech companies to pay users a monthly dividend for their data.
C. Require all citizens to use government-issued, encrypted email addresses.
D. Limit internet access to individuals who pass a cybersecurity test.

Question 8 of 8

Which of the following is recommended by the author as a practical step individuals can take to protect their privacy?

A. Completely disconnecting from the internet and exclusively using offline tools.
B. Performing a 'digital spring cleaning' by deleting unused apps and irrelevant documents from devices.
C. Creating multiple fake social media profiles to confuse data brokers.
D. Only using tech products manufactured before the year 2000.

Privacy Is Power — Full Chapter Overview

1Recommendation
2You’re being monitored wherever you go, every moment of the day.
3Google launched surveillance capitalism by turning personal data into profit.
4Your personal data is powerful because it gives those who hold it control over you.
5We must regulate data like any other dangerous toxic material.
6We must challenge Big Tech’s grip on the stories we tell about data privacy.
7We must impose strong regulations on the data-driven economy.
8You can take straightforward actions to safeguard your privacy online.

Privacy Is Power Summary & Overview

Privacy is Power (2020) is a shocking exposé of the inner workings of surveillance capitalism. It reveals how, every day, hundreds of interested parties are violating your privacy and capitalizing on your personal data. Corporations, governments, and criminals alike are all busy collecting and exploiting your data in an effort to influence the way you think and behave. In these blinks, you’ll learn why your privacy is so important and what you can do to protect it.

Who Should Listen to Privacy Is Power?

Those perturbed by governments and corporations snooping on our private lives
People untroubled by digital surveillance because they believe they have nothing to hide
Anyone looking for actionable ways to protect their privacy now

About the Author: Carissa Véliz

Philosopher Carissa Véliz is an associate professor at the Institute for Ethics in AI at the University of Oxford. Her research interests lie in the areas of privacy, technology, political philosophy, and public policy. She’s been published in numerous major publications, including the Guardian and the New York Times, and she’s also the editor of the Oxford Handbook of Digital Ethics.

Privacy Is Power

If You're Curious About These Questions...

Listen to Privacy Is Power — Free Audiobook

Key Takeaways from Privacy Is Power

Learning Tools

Mind Map

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Privacy Is Power — Full Chapter Overview

Privacy Is Power Summary & Overview

Who Should Listen to Privacy Is Power?

About the Author: Carissa Véliz

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