This important new book explores contemporary concerns about the protection of national security. It examines the role, influence, and impact of Big Tech on politics, power, and individual rights. The volume considers the manner in which digital technology and its business models have shaped public policy and charts its future course.

In this vital text for legislators and policymakers, Andrea Monti and Raymond Wacks draw on several case studies to analyse the changing nature of national security and revisit the traditional idea of the sovereignty of the State. They highlight some of the limitations of the conventional understanding of public policy, national security, and the rule of law to reveal the role of digital technology as an enabler as well as discriminator in governance and social disorder. Further, the chapters in the book explore the tenuous balance between individual freedom and national security; the key role of data protection in safeguarding digital data; Big Tech's appropriation of national security policy; the debate relating to datagathering technologies and encryption; and offers an unsettling answer to the question 'what is a leak?'

A stimulating read, this key text will be of immense interest to scholars of politics, cyberculture, and national security, as well as to policy analysts, lawyers, and journalists.

About the Author

Andrea Monti is an Italian lawyer, journalist, and academic, whose expertise ranges from biotechnology to privacy and high-tech law. He previously taught Public Order and Security at the Gabriele d'Annunzio, University of Chieti, Italy, where he is now an Adjunct Professor of Digital Law. Over the last two years, he has delivered lectures as part of the Italian State Police training programmes. He has published several papers on bio-information, computer forensics, technology, and public order, as well as books on computer hacking. His most recent publications are Protecting Personal Information: The Right to Privacy Reconsidered (2019), and COVID-19 and Public Policy in the Digital Age (2021), with Raymond Wacks.

Raymond Wacks is Emeritus Professor of Law and Legal Theory at the University of Hong Kong, China. He is the author of 16 books, several of which have been translated into more than a dozen languages on legal philosophy, privacy, and justice. He is also the co-author of five books, and editor of ten. His works include Personal Information: Privacy and the Law; Privacy and Media Freedom; Privacy: A Very Short Introduction; and Law: A Very Short Introduction. His most recent publications are Protecting Personal Information: The Right to Privacy Reconsidered (2019), and COVID-19 and Public Policy in the Digital Age (2021), with Andrea Monti. The sixth edition of his Understanding Jurisprudence: An Introduction to Legal Theory was published in 2021, as was The Rule of Law Under Fire?

Book Information
ISBN 9780367408015
Author Andrea Monti
Format Hardback
Page Count 170
Imprint Routledge India
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 376g