Privacy's Defender - by Cindy Cohn (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In this book, Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, chronicles three important legal privacy battles that have defined the digital age and shaped the internet we have today"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

A personal chronicle of three key legal privacy battles that have defined the digital age and shaped the internet as we know it.

From a seasoned leader in the field of digital privacy rights.

Throughout her career, Cindy Cohn has been driven by a fundamental question: Can we still have private conversations if we live our lives online? Privacy's Defender chronicles her thirty-year battle to protect our right to digital privacy and shows just how central this right is to all our other rights, including our ability to organize and make change in the world.

Shattering the hypermasculine myth that our digital reality was solely the work of a handful of charismatic tech founders, the author weaves her own personal story with the history of Crypto Wars, FBI gag orders, and the post-9/11 surveillance state. She describes how she became a seasoned leader in the early digital rights movement, as well as how this work serendipitously helped her discover her birth parents and find her life partner. Along the way, she also details the development of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which she grew from a ragtag group of lawyers and hackers into one of the most powerful digital rights organizations in the world.

Part memoir and part legal history for the general reader, the book is a compelling testament to just how hard-won the privacy rights we now enjoy as tech users are, but also how crucial these rights are in our efforts to combat authoritarianism, grow democracy, and strengthen other human rights.

Review Quotes

"[Cindy's] book is a buoyant response to a dismaying moment, proof that a scrappy nonprofit can compel the government to follow the law. She combines an accessible account of cases she argued with a humble appeal for help from lawyers, writers and others who share her belief that 'privacy is a crucial check on power.'" --San Francisco Chronicle

"Only an advocate who deeply believes in the public good could speak so earnestly, with the conviction of a fighter who has both won and lost in her mission." --Alta

ENDORSEMENTS

"These beautifully written stories show why the fight for privacy is worth having and reveal all that Cindy Cohn and EFF have done to establish the modern privacy doctrine as the essential core of a free society."
--Lawrence Lessig, Harvard University; author of How to Steal a Presidential Election

"Cindy Cohn gives readers a first-person window into some of the pivotal legal disputes of the digital era and reminds us that action and activism are crucial to preserving Americans' freedom."
--Ron Wyden, author of It Takes Chutzpah: How to Fight Fearlessly for Progressive Change

"Privacy's Defender is an important read for people who care about privacy and security. A wild ride and a hopeful example for anyone who has wondered what it's like to spend your life working toward a better world."
--Bruce Schneier, coauthor of Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship

"Cohn delivers a riveting, up-close look at some of the pivotal fights of the early internet--and in doing so, demonstrates the vital importance of EFF, Cindy herself, and all privacy defenders."
--Alexandra Reeve Givens, CEO, Center for Democracy & Technology

"Cindy Cohn has been at the forefront of the digital revolution from the beginning, and her book, Privacy's Defender, is a gripping, urgent chronicle of her leadership and deep understanding of this fraught, complex time."
--Alex Winter, actor and filmmaker

"Privacy's Defender is a compelling account of a life well lived and an inspiring call to action for the next generation of civil liberties champions."
--Edward Snowden, whistleblower; author of Permanent Record

About the Author

Cindy Cohn is Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. From 2000 to 2015, she served as EFF's Legal Director as well as its General Counsel. Today, she spearheads a team of more than 120 lawyers, activists, and technologists who are dedicated to ensuring that technology supports speech, privacy, and innovation for all the people of the world.