Eyes & Spies: How You’re Tracked and Why You Should Know

Kyi, Tanya Lloyd. Eyes & Spies: How You’re Tracked and Why You Should Know. 2017. 135p. ISBN 978-1-55451-911-8. Available at 323.44 KYI on the library shelves.

Whenever you click on a like button, send out an email, walk down the street, or use a cellphone, someone is capturing this information and compiling and storing it somewhere. From governments monitoring communication channels and multiple video feeds to corporations following your online presence and accumulating information on your preferences so they can sell you more products, nothing in the digital world is truly anonymous. How much information is actually collected, however, remains a secret, but Eyes & Spies takes a critical look at several aspects of how information is collected, by whom, and how it is then used.

Six chapters each explore a specific topic, from surveillance cameras to surfing data collection, from online bullying to one’s privacy in their home. The information presented flows in an accessible language, and arguments defending both an increase in surveillance and an increase in privacy are presented after each issue. The reader is asked to reflect on what they read through prompts following specific real-life cases. Finally, controversial cases that have been in the news the last decade are explored.

Ultimately, defending one’s right to keep information private comes down to deciding how much freedom can be traded for security, and being aware of what governments, organizations, and individuals are doing.