This document discusses privacy concerns regarding e-readers and e-books. It notes that e-readers collect extensive data about users' reading habits and behaviors. This data is potentially valuable for publishers but also allows for government surveillance. Some key privacy issues mentioned include the electronic trail left behind by user actions, data being shared with publishers, and lack of legal protections for e-reader data in many places. The conclusion calls for steps to protect privacy as a fundamental right in the digital age.

1. W H O ' S R E A D I N G O V E R
Y O U R S H O U L D E R ?
Privacy in the Age of the E-Reader
Created by xxolgaxx - pixabay.com

2. Reading is a solitary and
private act
Created by Photoangel - Freepik.com
"...an intimate exchange
between the reader and the
words on the page" [1]

3. “To escapeinto a book
and know that no one is
watching” [2]
Created by Freepik

4. E-READERS NOW PROVIDE
READERS WITH A LIBRARY
OF BOOKS AT THE TOUCH
OF A FINGER [3]
Created by Mrsiraphol - Freepik.com

5. E-Readers
80%
20%
E-BOOKS MAKE UP
BETWEEN 15 AND 20
PERCENT OF ALL
TRADE BOOK SALES [4]
Created by Freepik
e-Book Sales

6. WITH E-READER USE ON
THE RISE, IS READING
STILL THE PRIVATE ACT IT
ONCE WAS?
Created by Canva

7. E-readers “gather an astonishingly detailed portrait
of our book-reading habits: what we buy, what we
browse, the amount of time we spend on a page
and even the annotations we make in an ebook” [5]
Created by Jannoon028 - Freepik.com

8. “IF WE CAN HELP AUTHORS
CREATE EVEN BETTER BOOKS
THAN THEY CREATE TODAY, IT'S A
WIN FOR EVERYBODY.” [1]
JIM HILT
VICE PRESIDENT OF E-BOOKS,
BARNES & NOBEL

9. If data collection is
helping build better books,
What's the concern?
Created by Jannoon028 - Freepik.com

10. "The e-Book means giving up more
privacy than browsing through a physical
bookstore or library, or reading a paper
book in your own home" [6]
Created by Creativeart - Freepik.com

11. With every finger swipe and page turn, your
e-reader analyzes your actions, leaving an
electronic trail behind you [5]
Created by RemazteredStudio - pixabay.com

12. The electronic trail left by e-book users is
potentially profitable for publishers, and can
be used as government surveillance [5]
Created by Pexels - pixabay.com

13. In 2008, a student at Nottingham
University downloaded the al-
Quaida training manual from a US
government website while
researching counterterrorism for
his PhD studies
Created by Chrisreadingfoto - pixabay.com
He was detained for 7
days and subjected to a
police investigation [5]

14. This surveillence
"erodes the privacy
that is necessary to
enjoy our
freedoms" [5]
Created by Lachetas - Freepik.com

15. HOW WILL E-READER DATA
COLLECTION AFFECT AUTHORS?
Created by Jcomp - Freepik.com

16. The information collected on consumer e-book
reading habits is being shared with publishers and
editors [2]
Created by Jcomp - Freepik.com

17. The e-Reader data-
driven approach
could "hinder the
kinds of creative risks
that produce great
literature" [1]
Created by Pexels - pixabay.com

18. Created by kiwikashif - pixabay.com
"Will mystery writers be scolded (and
perhaps dropped from their publishers’
lists) because a third of their fans didn’t
even stick around long to enough to learn
who committed the murder?" [1]
"Will authors be urged to write
the sorts of books that the
highest percentage of readers
read to the end?" [1]

19. What is currently
in place to protect
e- reader privacy?
Created by Unsplash - Pixabay.com

20. The California Reader Privacy Act:
"Mirrors the strong privacy and free
speech standards that are already in place
and extends them to digital books and
electronic reading records" [7]
Created by jarmoluk - pixabay.com

21. FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE
VULNERABILITY OF READERS IN THE
DIGITAL AGE WOULD BE
RECOGNISED IN STATUTE
[5]

22. Created by Kaboompics - Freepik.com
How will the data-
driven approach
affect the age of the
e-reader?
Only time will tell.
However, steps must
be taken to ensure
that privacy as a
fundamental freedom
is protected.

23. References
1-Alter,A.(2017).YourE-BookIsReadingYou.WSJ.Retrieved24February2017,from
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304870304577490950051438304
2-Prose,F.(2017).They’reWatchingYouRead.TheNewYorkReviewofBooks.Retrieved24
February2017,fromhttp://www.nybooks.com/daily/2015/01/13/reading-whos-watching/
3-Twyla,M.,Johnson,K.A.,&Rossi-Williams,D.(2012).E-Readers:PoweringUpfor
Engagement.EducationalLeadership.Retrieved24February2017,from
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/jun12/vol69/num09/E-
Readers@_Powering_Up_for_Engagement.aspx
4-Jabr,F.(2017).TheReadingBrainintheDigitalAge:TheScienceofPaperversus
Screens.ScientificAmerican.Retrieved24February2017,from
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reading-paper-screens/
5-Glanville,J.(2017).Readers'privacyisunderthreatinthedigitalage.theGuardian.
Retrieved24February2017,fromhttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/aug/31/readers-
privacy-under-threat
6-Flood,A.(2017).E-readersreadingyourreading:Aseriousinvasionofprivacy?.the
Guardian.Retrieved24February2017,from
https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2012/dec/05/ereaders-reading-privacy
7- ReaderPrivacyActof2011.(2017).ElectronicFrontierFoundation.Retrieved4February
2017,fromhttps://www.eff.org/cases/sb-602-californias-reader-privacy-act-2011