None of Your Damn Business: Privacy in the United States from the Gilded Age to the Digital Age

A "thorough and lively" investigation into the history of privacy in America, why so many of us have surrendered it, and the implications for our future (American Historical Review).

Every day, Americans surrender their private information to entities claiming to have their best interests in mind. This trade-off has long been taken for granted, but the extent of its nefariousness has recently become much clearer. As None of Your Damn Business reveals, the problem is not so much that data will be used in ways we don't want, but rather how willing we have been to have our information used, abused, and sold right back to us.

In this startling book, Lawrence Cappello targets moments from the past 130 years of US history when privacy was central to battles over journalistic freedom, national security, surveillance, big data, and reproductive rights. As he makes dismayingly clear, Americans have had numerous opportunities to protect the public good while simultaneously safeguarding our information, and we've squandered them every time. None of Your Damn Business is a rich and provocative survey of an alarming topic that grows only more relevant with each fresh outrage of trust betrayed.

"Engaging . . . a must-read for legislators, policymakers, and anyone curious about the ways their privacy could potentially be compromised by the government, the media, or data brokers." —Publishers Weekly

© 2019 The University of Chicago Press (Ebook): 9780226557885

Release date

Ebook: 17 October 2019