We argue that privacy’s political strength rests in its “economic dark matter” (p. 27)—its role in protecting individual autonomy, freedom, dignity, fairness, the collective value of privacy and the integrity of social life. Where privacy construed as diffuse, atomistic interests in informational control often fails to motivate political action, privacy as constitutive of society and in service of “important [social] functions” succeeds. While Acquisti et al correctly describe the state of our current political economy as having left no space for privacy as a lived, intuitive, human practice, we believe those same conditions are fostering a resurgence of interest in privacy as a means to address the wealth of harms these conditions produce. We close with a call for regulatory approaches that develop institutions, tools, and actors that can iteratively shape the corporate, social, and political landscape to protect the collective, public, and social value of privacy in the public interest.
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The Fertile Dark Matter of Privacy takes on the Dark Patterns of Surveillance
This research argues that privacy’s strength lies in its role in protecting individual autonomy, freedom, dignity, fairness, and the collective value of privacy. While current conditions have diminished privacy as a lived practice, these same conditions are fostering a resurgence of interest in privacy as a means to address harms. The authors call for regulatory approaches that shape the corporate, social, and political landscape to protect the collective and public value of privacy.