Controlling Knowledge

Lorna Stefanick is an associate professor at AthabascaUniversity, where she teaches in the Governance, Law, and Managementprogram. Prior to joining AU, she was the associate director of theGovernment Studies unit at the University of Alberta. Having taught ina virtual environment for over a decade, Stefanick has first-handexposure to some of the radical ways in which new communicationtechnologies have transformed our working lives and socialrelationships.

• Preface and Acknowledgements ... ix 1. An Introduction to Freedom of Information and PrivacyProtection ... 1Accessing and Protecting Electronic Data ... 1Accountability and Autonomy ... 5Unpacking the Concepts ... 8Transparency, Privacy, and Good Governance ... 13Overview of the Book ... 23 2. Privacy Protection ... 29The Many Dimensions of Privacy ... 29The March Toward Regulation ... 37Data Flow, the Thirst for Information, and the Problems ofPrivacy Protection ... 46Privacy Protection, Personal Autonomy, and Control ... 59 3. Freedom of Information (FOI) ... 63Transparency for the Public Good ... 63The March Toward Regulation ... 71Administrative Practice: Challenges to the Culture of Openness ... 79Information Access, Equity, and Fairness ... 93 4.Sharing Medical Information: Antidote or Bitter Pill? ... 97The Special Case of Health Information ... 97Electronic Health Records ... 99Privacy and Confidentiality ... 103Secondary Uses of Medical Information ... 111Managing Health Information ... 122 5. Surveillance in the Digital Age ... 125Surveillance as a Form of Social Control ... 125Modern Forms of Watching ... 128Whither Watching? ... 155 6. Social Networking: The Case of Facebook ... 157The Creation of Online Personalities ... 157The Power and Perils of Virtual Communities ... 162Digital Identities, the Commodification of Personality, and theBacklash ... 172The Future of Facebook ... 182 7. Balancing Freedom of Information and the Protection ofPrivacy ... 187 Questions for Discussion ... 197Notes ... 205Selected Bibliography ... 231Index ... 243