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Protecting privacy in surveillance societies: The Federal Republic of Germany, Sweden, France, Canada, and the United States
366
Reviews
identifying report number is missing from several of the citations to government publications, but this does not detract from the overall usefulness of the information. The tables and charts contained in the text are clear and usually help augment the individual presentations. United States Scientific and Technical Information Policies successfully defines the state of federal ST1 policies in this country as we enter the 1990s. The federal ST1 system is very large and complex, and effective change will probably only occur incrementally through well designed regulations and legislation. This volume should serve as a primary sourcebook for those interested in the development of future initiatives in the area of scientific and technical information policies. This book is recommended to all researchers, policymakers, librarians, and information specialists with an interest in federal STI, and is an appropriate acquisition for academic, special, and large public libraries that serve clientele in the sciences and technology. THOMAS W. CONKLING Head, Engineering Library Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802 USA
Protecting Privacy in Surveillance Societies: The Federal Republic of Germany, Sweden, France, Canada, and the United States. Flaherty, David H. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1989. 483 pp. ISBN: o-8078-1871-2. LC: 89-4762. $45. Most advanced nations either have data protection laws or are in the process of developing them. This, therefore, is an important and timely contribution to an important field of information policy that has heretofore been relatively neglected. This superb book, by a scholar who has devoted the last quarter-century to the study of privacy issues, is a companion volume to the author’s earlier Privacy and Data Protection: An International Bibliography (White Plains, NY: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1984). Flaherty early on makes an important distinction between privacy protection and data protection. Privacy is seen as a broad concept that encompasses many human concerns about various forms of intrusive behavior, including wiretapping, surreptitious physical surveillance, and mail interception; surveillance itself connotes the use of data. This is a comparative study of the passage, revision, and implementation of data protection laws at the national and state levels in West Germany, Sweden, Canada, France, and the United States. These nations were chosen because they are deemed to represent the leading approaches to data protection. The focus is on evaluation of the success of these countries in controlling surveillance by officials who are responsible for protecting certain aspects of the personal privacy of their respective citizenry. The book’s tone is intentionally critical because data protection agencies have not tended to attract scholarly scrutiny in the past. Flaherty’s purpose is to explain various systems of data protection in order to foster intelligent responses. Much of the research upon which this study is based was done in the form of interviews with the staff members of data protection agencies and is supplemented with excellent bibliographic documentation. The author attempts to present his information as an empirical and functional rendition of reality rather than as an analysis of various statutes. This is done against the background of what is viewed as accelerating advances in technology that allow more and more efficient storage of data, which in turn leads to the collection of still more information. The concern is that once data exists, it is likely that it will be used somehow, and not necessarily to the benefit of any particular individual to whom the data relates. Flaherty views the international attention to human rights as inextricably connected to issues of privacy. Data collection in individuals is seen as leading to an increase in the power of governments and other large institutions. With the prevalence in Western nations of the personal identification number (PIN), there exists the potential for the perversion by surveillance of the democratic concept of power j7ows from the people. Therefore, the protection of personal privacy is seen as likely to remain a major societal issue for the foreseeable future, manifesting itself in the guises of limiting big government, preserving national sovereignty, controlling the linkage of records in different data files, the loss of personal identity, the uses of the PIN, as well the risks inherent in government data banks themselves. All of the countries studied in this volume had similar privacy and data protection problems that prompted the enactment of data protection laws. Flaherty seeks to understand the degree of similarity in the problems and the solutions. The regulation of certain types of government information systems processing personal data is a leading concern throughout the book.
Reviews
367
Each chapter dealing with an individual country is divided into the same subchapters: (1) a description of the model of data protection employed in the country; (2) a description of the goals of data protection as set forth in legislation; (3) an analysis of the characteristics of the regulatory agency charged with responsibility for data protection; (4) a discussion of staffing and the approach to implementation of the agency; (5) how problems are being dealt with in various types of information handling; and (6) what the response has been to privacy and surveillance issues. Such repetition of focus, country by country, provides a useful basis for making interesting comparisons. It is recognized that governments need to conduct surveillance activities for legitimate purposes, but that need must be balanced against the need to protect individual privacy. Flaherty seeks to determine how well the data protection agencies are doing their jobs. Are they merely providing the illusion of protection, or are they functioning merely as the legitimizers of the new technologies? The case studies presented produce some unnerving answers. Although it is accepted that data protection laws and agencies are essential in Western industrial societies, Flaherty waxes cynical in his final analysis, predicting the weakening of protection over time. This will result not from the deterioration of bureaucratic diligence, but rather because of the cyclical systemic erosion in change and effectiveness of the approaches that are in place. Because of continuing technological governments’ need for data, he concludes that the data protectors must be inspired to vigorous efforts as watchdogs, conducting rigorous audits to insure compliance, lest they (and we) be lulled into complacency by simple acquiescence to the premise that data protection is desirable and that its infringement should be discouraged. Successful implementation of data protection will require active and energetic leadership and dedicated trained bureaucrats. They must establish a tone of ethical and moral concern, and be vigilant, articulate, and resourceful in designing acceptable solutions for the control of surveillance that are in the public interest. This volume should be of special interest to those concerned with, or about, public policy aspects of privacy issues, government collection and security of data, comparative government, and the gray areas where technology and government decision-making have their nexus. Highly recommended. BRUCE MORTON Assistant Dean/Public Services Montana State University Bozeman, MT 59717-0022 USA
Government Assistance Almanac, 1989-1990: The Guide to All Federal Financial and Other Domestic Programs. Dumouchel, J. Robert. Detroit: Omnigraphics, Inc., and Washington: Poggy Bottom Publications, 1989. 749 pp. ISBN: l-55888-810-1. LC: 86-658073. $55. The Government Assistance Almanac, 1989-1990 (GAA) condenses the lengthy contents of the 1988 Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (Catalog). This reduction is designed to facilitate access to users and, with modifications in the physical presentation of the material, make it easier to handle. The GAA aims to provide information about financial assistance available from federal agencies, departments, commissions and bureaus. It also attempts to guide the user in selecting the most suitable programs for which to apply. Focused to reach an audience including any United States taxpayer “whose dollars support the programs” (p. 3) the editor also points out that while assistance may be available, funding and eligibility criteria are restrictions to bear in mind. The work is arranged in four parts: “Obtaining Federal Tables; and “ProDomestic Assistance”; “Program Information”; “ Program Funding Levels-Summary gram Field Contacts. ” “Part I-Obtaining Federal Assistance,” outlines an elementary four-step process instructing the user on the most effective use of the book. It lists 15 types of assistance and discusses the timeliness of the information. “Part II -Program Information, ’ ’ the heart of this source, gives descriptions of the I,1 17 federal programs available during the 1989/1990 fiscal year. The GAA adopts the same numbering system that is used in the Catalog. Each program entry contains eight elements: the subunit with management responsibility for the program; the program number; program title; type or classification of assistance; basic purpose of the program and its permitted uses; eligible applicants and eligible beneficiaries; range of dollar amounts provided; and address and phone number of the program headquarters.
Reviews
identifying report number is missing from several of the citations to government publications, but this does not detract from the overall usefulness of the information. The tables and charts contained in the text are clear and usually help augment the individual presentations. United States Scientific and Technical Information Policies successfully defines the state of federal ST1 policies in this country as we enter the 1990s. The federal ST1 system is very large and complex, and effective change will probably only occur incrementally through well designed regulations and legislation. This volume should serve as a primary sourcebook for those interested in the development of future initiatives in the area of scientific and technical information policies. This book is recommended to all researchers, policymakers, librarians, and information specialists with an interest in federal STI, and is an appropriate acquisition for academic, special, and large public libraries that serve clientele in the sciences and technology. THOMAS W. CONKLING Head, Engineering Library Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802 USA
Protecting Privacy in Surveillance Societies: The Federal Republic of Germany, Sweden, France, Canada, and the United States. Flaherty, David H. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1989. 483 pp. ISBN: o-8078-1871-2. LC: 89-4762. $45. Most advanced nations either have data protection laws or are in the process of developing them. This, therefore, is an important and timely contribution to an important field of information policy that has heretofore been relatively neglected. This superb book, by a scholar who has devoted the last quarter-century to the study of privacy issues, is a companion volume to the author’s earlier Privacy and Data Protection: An International Bibliography (White Plains, NY: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1984). Flaherty early on makes an important distinction between privacy protection and data protection. Privacy is seen as a broad concept that encompasses many human concerns about various forms of intrusive behavior, including wiretapping, surreptitious physical surveillance, and mail interception; surveillance itself connotes the use of data. This is a comparative study of the passage, revision, and implementation of data protection laws at the national and state levels in West Germany, Sweden, Canada, France, and the United States. These nations were chosen because they are deemed to represent the leading approaches to data protection. The focus is on evaluation of the success of these countries in controlling surveillance by officials who are responsible for protecting certain aspects of the personal privacy of their respective citizenry. The book’s tone is intentionally critical because data protection agencies have not tended to attract scholarly scrutiny in the past. Flaherty’s purpose is to explain various systems of data protection in order to foster intelligent responses. Much of the research upon which this study is based was done in the form of interviews with the staff members of data protection agencies and is supplemented with excellent bibliographic documentation. The author attempts to present his information as an empirical and functional rendition of reality rather than as an analysis of various statutes. This is done against the background of what is viewed as accelerating advances in technology that allow more and more efficient storage of data, which in turn leads to the collection of still more information. The concern is that once data exists, it is likely that it will be used somehow, and not necessarily to the benefit of any particular individual to whom the data relates. Flaherty views the international attention to human rights as inextricably connected to issues of privacy. Data collection in individuals is seen as leading to an increase in the power of governments and other large institutions. With the prevalence in Western nations of the personal identification number (PIN), there exists the potential for the perversion by surveillance of the democratic concept of power j7ows from the people. Therefore, the protection of personal privacy is seen as likely to remain a major societal issue for the foreseeable future, manifesting itself in the guises of limiting big government, preserving national sovereignty, controlling the linkage of records in different data files, the loss of personal identity, the uses of the PIN, as well the risks inherent in government data banks themselves. All of the countries studied in this volume had similar privacy and data protection problems that prompted the enactment of data protection laws. Flaherty seeks to understand the degree of similarity in the problems and the solutions. The regulation of certain types of government information systems processing personal data is a leading concern throughout the book.
Reviews
367
Each chapter dealing with an individual country is divided into the same subchapters: (1) a description of the model of data protection employed in the country; (2) a description of the goals of data protection as set forth in legislation; (3) an analysis of the characteristics of the regulatory agency charged with responsibility for data protection; (4) a discussion of staffing and the approach to implementation of the agency; (5) how problems are being dealt with in various types of information handling; and (6) what the response has been to privacy and surveillance issues. Such repetition of focus, country by country, provides a useful basis for making interesting comparisons. It is recognized that governments need to conduct surveillance activities for legitimate purposes, but that need must be balanced against the need to protect individual privacy. Flaherty seeks to determine how well the data protection agencies are doing their jobs. Are they merely providing the illusion of protection, or are they functioning merely as the legitimizers of the new technologies? The case studies presented produce some unnerving answers. Although it is accepted that data protection laws and agencies are essential in Western industrial societies, Flaherty waxes cynical in his final analysis, predicting the weakening of protection over time. This will result not from the deterioration of bureaucratic diligence, but rather because of the cyclical systemic erosion in change and effectiveness of the approaches that are in place. Because of continuing technological governments’ need for data, he concludes that the data protectors must be inspired to vigorous efforts as watchdogs, conducting rigorous audits to insure compliance, lest they (and we) be lulled into complacency by simple acquiescence to the premise that data protection is desirable and that its infringement should be discouraged. Successful implementation of data protection will require active and energetic leadership and dedicated trained bureaucrats. They must establish a tone of ethical and moral concern, and be vigilant, articulate, and resourceful in designing acceptable solutions for the control of surveillance that are in the public interest. This volume should be of special interest to those concerned with, or about, public policy aspects of privacy issues, government collection and security of data, comparative government, and the gray areas where technology and government decision-making have their nexus. Highly recommended. BRUCE MORTON Assistant Dean/Public Services Montana State University Bozeman, MT 59717-0022 USA
Government Assistance Almanac, 1989-1990: The Guide to All Federal Financial and Other Domestic Programs. Dumouchel, J. Robert. Detroit: Omnigraphics, Inc., and Washington: Poggy Bottom Publications, 1989. 749 pp. ISBN: l-55888-810-1. LC: 86-658073. $55. The Government Assistance Almanac, 1989-1990 (GAA) condenses the lengthy contents of the 1988 Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (Catalog). This reduction is designed to facilitate access to users and, with modifications in the physical presentation of the material, make it easier to handle. The GAA aims to provide information about financial assistance available from federal agencies, departments, commissions and bureaus. It also attempts to guide the user in selecting the most suitable programs for which to apply. Focused to reach an audience including any United States taxpayer “whose dollars support the programs” (p. 3) the editor also points out that while assistance may be available, funding and eligibility criteria are restrictions to bear in mind. The work is arranged in four parts: “Obtaining Federal Tables; and “ProDomestic Assistance”; “Program Information”; “ Program Funding Levels-Summary gram Field Contacts. ” “Part I-Obtaining Federal Assistance,” outlines an elementary four-step process instructing the user on the most effective use of the book. It lists 15 types of assistance and discusses the timeliness of the information. “Part II -Program Information, ’ ’ the heart of this source, gives descriptions of the I,1 17 federal programs available during the 1989/1990 fiscal year. The GAA adopts the same numbering system that is used in the Catalog. Each program entry contains eight elements: the subunit with management responsibility for the program; the program number; program title; type or classification of assistance; basic purpose of the program and its permitted uses; eligible applicants and eligible beneficiaries; range of dollar amounts provided; and address and phone number of the program headquarters.