Daniel J. Solove

Monday March 7, 2005
12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Room 271
Free and Open to all!
Lunch Served

In the Information Age, our lives are documented in digital dossiers maintained by hundreds (perhaps thousands) of businesses and government agencies. These dossiers are composed of bits of our personal information, which when assembled together begin to paint a portrait of our personalities. The dossiers are increasingly used to make decisions about our lives – whether we get a loan, a mortgage, a license, or a job; whether we are investigated or arrested; and whether we are permitted to fly on an airplane. After September 11, the government has been increasingly tapping into companies' databases to monitor and profile people.

This talk is based on Professor Daniel J. Solove’s new book, THE DIGITAL PERSON: TECHNOLOGY AND PRIVACY IN THE INFORMATION AGE. The book explores the vexing privacy problems of living in an age where extensive dossiers of personal information are increasingly affecting our lives. The law of information privacy has thus far been ineffective at addressing these problems. Is it possible to protect privacy in a society where information flows so freely and proliferates so rapidly? This talk will explore this question.

More details about the book.
Professor Daniel J. Solove is the author of the new book, THE DIGITAL PERSON: TECHNOLOGY AND PRIVACY IN THE INFORMATION AGE, which noted security expert Bruce Schneier calls “a fascinating journey into the almost surreal ways personal information is hoarded, used, and abused in the digital age” and distinguished Berkeley Law School Professor Pamela Samuelson declares as “the best exposition thus far about the threat that computer databases containing personal data about millions of Americans poses for information privacy.” Solove is also the author of a casebook, INFORMATION PRIVACY LAW, with co-author Marc Rotenberg. He has published over a dozen law articles about information privacy in leading law reviews such as the Yale Law Journal and Stanford Law Review, has contributed to amicus briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court, has been involved in high-profile privacy cases including serving as a consultant to a lawsuit brought by Barbra Streisand, and has been interviewed and featured in well over 50 media broadcasts and articles, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Business Week, ABC News, CBS News, Associated Press, and NPR. A graduate of Yale Law School, he clerked for Judge Stanley Sporkin, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and Judge Pamela Ann Rymer, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Professor Solove teaches information privacy law, criminal procedure, criminal law, and law and literature. More information about Professor Solove.