PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG

News, Developments, and Insights

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The Audacity: Big Tech and the Battle for Privacy

Originally posted on Substack

I recently finished watching the first season of a terrific new TV series, The Audacity (2026). The show chronicles Duncan Park (Billy Magnussen), an out-of-control tech billionaire who has a company called Hypergnosis. The show was created by Jonathan Glatzer, who was a writer and producer for several TV series including Succession, Better Call Saul, and Bloodline.

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AI Magazine Covers Throughout the Decades

Originally posted on Substack

I previously posted my collection of privacy magazine covers. Here’s my collection of magazine covers involving AI, the internet, and related digital technologies.

I collected more than 80 magazine covers from the 1950s to the present. I’m excited to share my collection with you. If you have any covers I’ve missed, please share them with me.

I’ll begin with a quick look, then I’ll include larger images later.

Also scroll down to the very end to see my favorite covers, including my top 3 and see if you agree with me.

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Privacy, AI, and Tech Works Worth Your Attention

Originally posted on Substack

I’ve curated a list of recent works on privacy, AI, and tech that will be worth your time checking out. As I’m just launching this series, I have a backlog of recent works that I plan to include in future editions.

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Privacy as Property?

Originally posted on Substack

Is personal data property? Should it be?

I’ve often heard arguments that an effective way to protect privacy would be to protect personal data with property rights. The thinking behind this idea is that ownership of property confers a lot of power on the owner, so perhaps this is the best way to empower individuals to control their data.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work. I wrote about this problem more than twenty years ago in my book, THE DIGITAL PERSON: TECHNOLOGY AND PRIVACY IN THE INFORMATION AGE (2004) (see here for a free PDF of the entire book).

I began my discussion by explaining the theory animating the proponents of privacy-as-property:

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Privacy Magazine Covers Throughout the Decades

Originally posted on Substack

I enjoy collecting things related to privacy as well as seeing how privacy is described and depicted throughout different times in history.

I collected about 50 magazine covers involving privacy from 1950s to the present. I’m excited to share my collection with you. If you have any covers I’ve missed, please share them with me.

I also have a collection of magazine covers involving AI, computers, and the internet that I’ll be sharing later.

I’ll begin with a quick look, then I’ll include larger images later.

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Andor and Authoritarianism

Originally posted on Substack

The TV series Andor (2022-2025) is one of the very best depictions of the dimensions of an authoritarian regime and those who resist it. The series is one of my all-time favorites—it is phenomenal in everything, from writing to acting to cinematography.

Andor chronicles the beginnings of the rebellion against the Empire prior to the movie Star Wars Episode IV (1977). It is a prequel to the prequel movie, Rogue I: A Star Wars Story (2016).

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The Death of Privacy: A Collection of Undying Eulogies

Originally Posted in Substack

“Privacy is dead!” I’ve heard this proclamation countless times. But privacy has been dying for decades . . . and it keeps on dying.

Below is my collection of eulogies for privacy, which shows that we should be skeptical of claims that privacy is dead. If we believe this, then we might give up the fight for privacy, which will let those who want to kill privacy get away with murder.

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