Teeming with chatrooms, online discussion groups, and blogs, the Internet offers previously unimagined opportunities
for personal expression and communication. But there�s a dark side to the story. A trail of information fragments
about us is forever preserved on the Internet, instantly available in a Google search. A permanent chronicle of
our private lives�often of dubious reliability and sometimes totally false�will follow us wherever we go, accessible
to friends, strangers, dates, employers, neighbors, relatives, and anyone else who cares to look. This engrossing
book, brimming with amazing examples of gossip, slander, and rumor on the Internet, explores the profound implications
of the online collision between free speech and privacy.
Daniel Solove, an authority on information privacy law, offers a fascinating account of how the Internet is transforming
gossip, the way we shame others, and our ability to protect our own reputations. Focusing on blogs, Internet communities,
cybermobs, and other current trends, he shows that, ironically, the unconstrained flow of information on the Internet
may impede opportunities for self-development and freedom. Long-standing notions of privacy need review, the author
contends: unless we establish a balance between privacy and free speech, we may discover that the freedom of the
Internet makes us less free.