Seven Veils of Privacy

Kieron O’Hara is an Emeritus Fellow in Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton

‘An impressively thorough and systematic – but always accessible – analysis. O'Hara sorts and sifts the different claims for what is and what is not “privacy”. O Privacy, what crimes are committed in thy name! But O'Hara! What fun you've had finding a way through the muddles and misunderstandings to establish a common language for discussing privacy. I wish I'd had access to Kieron O'Hara's excellent survey when I started out as UK Information Commissioner back in 2009. O'Hara's razor should help us to approach debates around public policy on their own merits, avoiding using “privacy” as a mere label either to support or oppose particular causes or proposals.'Christopher Graham, UK Information Commissioner, 2009–16‘O’Hara gives us a refreshingly provocative, learned, distinctive and lively book about privacy that will stimulate important debates. The vast, unwieldy body of privacy scholarship is seen through new lenses, bringing seven different levels of privacy discourse into focus. Each one veils the meaning of privacy, but all contribute to a new framework that helps to make sense of the supposed “chaos” of this subject. Illustrative discussions of seven important privacy topics and debates are related to the sevenfold framework. O’Hara’s examples and personal style keep the reader in mind along the intricate trail of de (or re)constructive analysis, and a fascinating conclusion affords important insights into privacy by refracting the analysis through the COVID-19 pandemic experience.’Charles Raab, Professor Emeritus, University of Edinburgh‘How should we talk about privacy? Before you answer that question, read this book. The seven veils of privacy is deep and erudite, yet accessible and even humorous. O’Hara takes us on a deeply researched and compelling journey through the points of disagreement in our privacy discourse. This book helps us understand why we keep talking past each other and how to have a more productive conversation about one of the most critical values of our time.’Woodrow Hartzog, Professor of Law, Boston University and author of Privacy’s Blueprint: The Battle to Control the Design of New Technologies'A highly informative book for readers who want to understand privacy through its value, definition, usage and context. Readers will get a stronger sense of what privacy is – and what it is not – by reflecting on the context of the topic, ranging from the personal level to societal realms. Kieron O’Hara sets out to solve the problem of defining privacy by examining its historical and various cultural understandings. To successfully understand privacy, we need to recognise its flexibility in definition and interpretation, and question how we, as readers, define and use the concept.'Kat Fuller, The Sociological Review

• Introduction: the goal of this bookPart I: A concept in disarray?Part II: Explaining the disarrayPart III: A framework for privacy discoursesPart IV: Commentary on the frameworkPart V: Topics in privacy studiesConclusion: privacy in the time of COVIDIndex