I have just published a new

article on "information privacy." "Information

Technology and the Social Construction of Information Privacy: Comment,"

Journal of Accounting and Public Policy Volume 22, Issue 3, May-June

2003, Pages 281-285)

The abstract says:

Privacy is not merely "socially constructed"; it is a good

thing. We should defend privacy because it supports freedom, property

rights, informed consent, personality development, happiness, equality

of power, an appropriate separation of society into multiple zones,

and rights of association, while helping to prevent discrimination and

defamation. Accountants have a professional responsibility to help protect

information privacy.

This short, commissioned piece begins with some comments about the methodology

of another article in the same journal; these remarks are not very interesting

for general readers. I think the main value of my piece (if it is useful

at all) is that it lists the goods and rights that we can enhance by protecting

online privacy. None of the items on my list is original, but they are

all together in one place.