Ssrn Id998565 1 
SOLOVE POST-AUTHOR PAGES (SUPER FINAL).DOC
2/7/2008 3:16:38 PM
“I’ve Got Nothing to Hide” and Other
Misunderstandings of Privacy
DANIEL J. SOLOVE*
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 745
THE “NOTHING TO HIDE” ARGUMENT ................................................................ 748
CONCEPTUALIZING PRIVACY .............................................................................. 754
A. A Pluralistic Conception of Privacy ........................................................ 754
B. The Social Value of Privacy..................................................................... 760
THE PROBLEM WITH THE “NOTHING TO HIDE” ARGUMENT ................................. 764
A. Understanding the Many Dimensions of Privacy..................................... 764
B. Understanding Structural Problems ........................................................ 768
CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................... 772
I. INTRODUCTION
Since the September 11 attacks, the government has been engaging in extensive surveillance and data mining. Regarding surveillance, in
December 2005, the New York Times revealed that after September 11, the Bush Administration secretly authorized the National Security
Administration (NSA) to engage in warrantless wiretapping of American citizens’ telephone calls.1 As for data mining, which involves analyzing
* © Daniel J. Solove 2007. Associate Professor, George Washington University
Law School; J.D., Yale Law School. Thanks to Chris Hoofnagle, Adam Moore, and Michael
Sullivan for helpful comments, and to my research assistant Sheerin Shahinpoor. I develop some of the ideas in this essay in significantly more depth in my forthcoming book, Understanding Privacy, to be published by Harvard University Press in May 2008.
1. James Risen & Eric Lichtblau, Bush Lets U.S.
2/7/2008 3:16:38 PM
“I’ve Got Nothing to Hide” and Other
Misunderstandings of Privacy
DANIEL J. SOLOVE*
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 745
THE “NOTHING TO HIDE” ARGUMENT ................................................................ 748
CONCEPTUALIZING PRIVACY .............................................................................. 754
A. A Pluralistic Conception of Privacy ........................................................ 754
B. The Social Value of Privacy..................................................................... 760
THE PROBLEM WITH THE “NOTHING TO HIDE” ARGUMENT ................................. 764
A. Understanding the Many Dimensions of Privacy..................................... 764
B. Understanding Structural Problems ........................................................ 768
CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................... 772
I. INTRODUCTION
Since the September 11 attacks, the government has been engaging in extensive surveillance and data mining. Regarding surveillance, in
December 2005, the New York Times revealed that after September 11, the Bush Administration secretly authorized the National Security
Administration (NSA) to engage in warrantless wiretapping of American citizens’ telephone calls.1 As for data mining, which involves analyzing
* © Daniel J. Solove 2007. Associate Professor, George Washington University
Law School; J.D., Yale Law School. Thanks to Chris Hoofnagle, Adam Moore, and Michael
Sullivan for helpful comments, and to my research assistant Sheerin Shahinpoor. I develop some of the ideas in this essay in significantly more depth in my forthcoming book, Understanding Privacy, to be published by Harvard University Press in May 2008.
1. James Risen & Eric Lichtblau, Bush Lets U.S.