Dragnet Nation: A Quest for Privacy, Security, and Freedom in a World of Relentless Surveillance

One of Publishers Weekly's Top 10 Business & Economics Books: A "fascinating" inside look at who's watching you, what they know, and why it matters (Kirkus Reviews). A New York Times Bestseller

In Dragnet Nation, award-winning investigative journalist Julia Angwin reports from the front lines of America's surveillance economy, offering a revelatory and unsettling look at how the government, private companies, and even criminals use technology to indiscriminately sweep up vast amounts of our personal data. In a world where we can be watched in our own homes, where we can no longer keep secrets, and where we can be impersonated, financially manipulated, or even placed in a police lineup, Angwin argues that the greatest long-term danger is that we start to internalize the surveillance and censor our words and thoughts, until we lose the very freedom that makes us unique individuals. Appalled at such a prospect, Angwin conducts a series of experiments to try to protect herself, ranging from quitting Google to carrying a burner phone, showing how difficult it is for an average citizen to resist the dragnets' reach. Her book is a cautionary tale for all of us, with profound implications for our values, our society, and our very selves.

"Draws on conversations with researchers, hackers and IT experts, surveying the modern dragnet tracking made possible by massive computing power, smaller devices and cheap storage of data." —Kirkus Reviews

"A useful, well-reported study." —Los Angeles Times

"Informative, conversational . . . a helpful guide for readers seeking non-jargony information on minimizing their digital footprints." —Columbia Journalism Review

"Angwin, a longtime reporter on digital privacy issues for the Wall Street Journal, releases the contemporary (and, unfortunately, nonfiction) companion book to Orwell's 1984. Dragnet Nation examines the surveillance economy and its effect on free speech and thought, likely causing readers to rethink the next words they type into a search engine." —LA Weekly

© 2014 Times Books (Ebook): 9780805098082

Release date

Ebook: February 25, 2014