Knowledge Power: Intellectual Property, Information, and Privacy (Ipolitics)

Rating:
Summary: An important, timely, and highly readable analysis
Review: Knowledge Power examines in a thorough and compelling way basic questions of who owns information and who has access. No one today, even children, can escape the significance of these questions. Children surfing the web, teenagers purchasing "fake" designer goods from street vendors, and adults submitting income tax forms face complex issues related to proprietary information, intellectual property, and privacy.

As a psychologist, I especially liked Marlin-Bennett's discussion of the flow of personal information. Her evaluation of the often porous boundary between public and private information is enlightening; the definition of confidential is shifting. The limitations on one's right to privacy are carefully and thoughtfully examined. The rules are changing and each person has a role to play in shaping the fine balance of ownership of and access to knowledge; therein lies the power.

The audience for this book is wide. The text is enlivened by examples from sports, music, science, business, etc. I strongly recommend this book to those who feel the tension between the rights of government and business versus those of the individual. You will become informed about rights and responsibilities in the Information Age and prepared to enter the debate.