Eyes and Spies explores how technology and data are used by corporations, the government, and even regular citizens in order to track, spy on, or extract information from people across the world. It uses tons of real-world examples and presents the pros and cons from both people who support privacy and people who support security. It talks about how outdated our laws are about technology because they were made so long ago and how things like parenting and schooling have been impacted by these concerns. It talks a lot about how most of this technology was invented as a way of keeping children safe, but because it can be hacked or abused, sometimes it does the exact opposite.

This would be great discussion material for middle-grade students who want to learn more about internet safety and privacy and has action steps they can take. It does talk about difficult topics such as cyberbullying that leads to suicide, sexual harassment, murder, racial profiling, and kidnapping, but it is important stuff for any child (and parent) to be aware of. There was even some stuff in here I was not aware of - for example, I understand targeted ads, but I did not realize how creepy it is that these big corporations keep terabytes and terabytes of data about me and other shoppers or can use facial recognition, even if we aren't signed up for rewards programs or memberships.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

This was such a light but educational read with information relayed in a succinct, bite-sized, and visually pleasing manner. The target audience is kids and I think this would be great in teaching them about the essential online privacy maintenance methods because of the visual formatting and general easy on the eyes layout of the book!

This is a great informative book with excellent illustrations aimed at adolescents aged 12-16 to educate them about the dangers of the Internet. A must read.

I can only tell you one word: confused. That is what I am thinking/feeling now.

Well researched, well laid out and impressively informative. Great for teens. Colorful and appealing.

The writing is very informative, and the little extra info on the sides was a nice touch. I honestly thought I knew about all kinds of internet dangers in this book…but I seriously didn’t. I mean, the whole section on how stores track customers and collect data on us is freaky (but the pregnant daughter part was actually kind of hilarious. Had this girl known that Target was tracking her purchases, she probably could’ve kept it a secret from her father for a few extra weeks). Regardless, I learned quite a lot, and all the other information was a nice refresher too.

Adults and kids (especially the younger age-group, and even older people who don’t necessarily understand how computers work) need to read “Eyes and Spies.” A little knowledge can go a long way, and this book is packed with it. I wasn’t left wondering about a certain technique that was introduced in this book – everything was explained, and even questions the whole argument of what our rights are in situations. I really liked that part, because it makes you think about it, and really decide for yourself what could happen, and what you need to think about if you’re ever stuck in an internet war (not the Twitter kind).

Thank you, Annick Press!

I received this book via Annick Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinion.

If I taught a course on technology, I would consider purchasing this title for use in a class. Lots of topics we need to teach kids. Full review on goodreads.com

A timely, up to date and well written book on data, privacy and our digital lives. Illustrations are appropriate and cool, and lots of good pop out boxes with thought provoking questions. Each chapter asks ethical / value based questions on whether "the line" has been crossed. Great for classroom or home/parental discussions.

Pleasing visual format, bright colors, and text bubbles keep the reader's eye glued to the page and interested in privacy. However, due to the glaring error on page 95 (author stated that in 2001 Fitbit users realized their devices were being used to record intimate moments - in actuality, it was 2011), made me suspicious of every other date in the book. I am severely tempted to acquire all of NYPL's copies of this book and pen in the correct date myself. A sloppy mistake that is inexcusable for a published nonfiction work. - note - I read the published copy, and requested the galley to alert the publisher about this error.

Issues of surveillance and digital privacy are certainly important for all of us to consider. We definitely want our young people thinking about these things, given how much of their lives are lived online. We want them to ask questions rather than blindly accepting invasions of their privacy as reality. While I'd have preferred more specific examples relevant to the lives of young teens, the topic is vital enough to make this automatically one that I recommend.
Additionally, there is a lot of visual appeal in the page design. The chapters are broken down into easily digested chunks.

With all of news lately about hacking and the CIA (see for example, articles in Wired or the New York Times), it seems appropriate to turn to a couple of new books on this subject:

EYES AND SPIES: HOW YOU'RE TRACKED AND WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW written by Tanya Lioyd Kyi and illustrated by Belle Wuthrich is a relatively short (135 page) text aimed at middle school and slightly older readers. It, too, has chapters on computer surveillance, data mining, and personal privacy, plus Kyi adds topics of interest to tweens and teens like cyberbullying. The first few chapters, for example, explore the pros and cons of using RFID or GPS so that students can be tracked and parents know when they arrive at school. Other amply illustrated sections look into data collected when shopping. EYES AND SPIES also has a further reading section and an extensive source list. School Library Journal’s review said that this should be "required reading for middle and high schoolers." It is certainly a starting point for discussion. There is much to ponder, and as the author notes, "the real questions aren't whether technology helps or hinders surveillance, [or whether it] protects or endangers privacy. The real questions are these: (1) How are societies going to use these new tools? And (2) Where do we ... draw the line between privacy and protection?"

THE ART OF INVISIBILITY by Kevin D. Mitnick is also reviewed in that post which contains these live links:
https://www.wired.com/2017/03/cias-hacking-hoard-makes-everyone-less-secure/
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/08/technology/personaltech/defense-against-cia-hacking.html?_r=0

Yes, yes, and yes. Adults should read this; teens should read this; young children should have this read to them (feel free to edit some as you go). All adults under the age of 40 - especially those in the 28-40 year old range who grew up in one world, but are now working and living in another, need to read this. Some of it won't be new information (for adults, at least), but some of it will blow your mind. My favorite part? The Panopticon. Everyone should read up on this.....and then consider the current situation. Parents should definitely use this as a jumping off point for discussion with their teens!

I enjoyed this book, it was full of interesting facts but at times it did seem to be a bit too wordy and could have done with a few more images. Hopefully it will give young adults a better idea of why and how they are being observed. Different book for me but certainly worth a read - 3 stars