Meh.

I really thought this book would be eye opening or give me more of a foundation for understanding these issues but instead it felt like a retreading of themes I've seen elsewhere.

Thank you to both #NetGalley and Cambridge University Press for providing me an advance copy of Ari Ezra Waldman’s scholarly work, Industry Unbound, in exchange for an honest review.

#IndustryUnbound is supposedly a take on how companies in the tech industry implement pro-privacy corporate strategies and use them as a shield to exploit consumer data and undermine consumer privacy. Though the text is billed as a nonfiction novel, it reads more like an article from an academic journal; with a premise that is loosely supported by unformatted interviews between the author and tech industry employees.

Based solely on the introduction, I would not be surprised to learn that the book started as one of the author’s previously published law journal notes. While this structure works well in both academia and legal texts, I strongly recommend avoiding its use in nonfiction novels. It comes across as dull and repetitive. Fortunately, readers who work in the privacy sector or who have extensive knowledge of privacy laws can skip this section. It likely does not offer any new information.

Again, for those who are relatively familiar with the privacy realm, chapter one may be disregarded as well. Ignore it unless you enjoy reading poorly formatted <s>conversations</s> interviews between the author and random employees from unnamed tech companies. I realize the author was attempting to support his argument by emphasizing the indifference and/or lack of training some employees have despite their titles, but this could have been done in a more tactful manner. Instead, the interview subjects come across as ignorant and careless individuals, and the author himself as antagonistic. To reiterate, I learned nothing.

Moving swiftly on to Chapter 2, which unfortunately is not much better for one underlying reason: the author proffers sweeping generalizations that one could easily discover by reading any privacy blog (not article) on the internet. Although the author uses footnotes, I would recommend he insert them after every <s>opinion</s> sentence. Ivy league degrees are not the equivalent of a reliable source. Neither is highlighting the obvious using an arrogant tone. Indeed, I cannot decide which offense is worse: the bluster or the lack of support.

Additionally, I’d be curious to know with whom the author is having these discussions. According to the subtext, virtually no one save for the author himself knows anything about privacy law. I beg to differ. There is certainly a way to implement tools and utilize regulations as protective measures. Sir, if you are reading this and doubt me, please feel free to reach out. I will gladly share my approach.

For the now third and final time, if you have an interest in this field, then reading this novel will not offer any new insight. I would summarize the book in one sentence for prospective readers, but unlike the author, I have no desire to antagonize anyone. While I do agree with many of the points that the author makes, it could have been executed without the redundancy and condescension. (Oh, the irony! I know). I also would have loved to hear some of the author’s proposals on how the industry should proceed to resolve these issues. At the very least, some original thoughts on the subject would have been lovely. Editors, if you are reading this drivel, please take note!