I made this stack for a staff training program on ebooks and ereaders. It is a basic overview of privacy as it relates to ereaders and ebooks. I updated it on 11/30/2012 to reflect the latest EFF Ereader and Privacy Chart: https://www.eff.org/pages/reader-privacy-chart-2012

1. Ebooks and Privacy

2. Why privacy matters
“Lack of privacy and
confidentiality
chills users’ choices,
thereby suppressing
access to ideas.”
http://www.ala.org/offices/oif/ifissues/privacyconfidential

3. What does your ereader/tablet know about
you?

4. What does your ereader/tablet know about
you?
Depending on the capabilities of the
device, and the manufacturer’s
practices, potentially LOTS!

5. Where you are…
“And it's not just what pages you read; [the
device] may also monitor where you read
them.”
http://www.npr.org/2010/12/15/132058735/is-your-e-book-reading-up-on-

6. What you like to read…

7. …and, where in the book you stopped
reading, how fast you read, etc.

8. What music you listen to…

9. What movies you like…

10. Credit card information

11. Credit card information
Barnes & Noble
requires
a valid credit
card to be
on the device,
even to use the
Overdrive app.

12. Ereaders and tablets are computers.

13. Over networks, computers talk to one
another

14. Most ereading devices can use wi-fi to
access the web

15. Wi-fi:
•Allows wireless connection
to a computer network
•Local
•Restaurants
•Coffee shops
•Bookstores
•Libraries
•Offices
•Some devices
automatically connect to wi-
fi when they detect it (smart
phones, tablets)

16. Some ereading devices can use 3G

17. 3G: “third-generation” cellular system
•Available essentially
anywhere
•Tablets/smart phones
•tied to wireless
provider’s data plan (not
free)
•Kindle
•Not tied to wireless
provider
•Free
•3G-capable Kindle
models default to 3G if
wi-fi is not available

18. Who does your device talk to?
Whoa! Really?
What else Well, Jeff,
does she like she’s
really
to read? into…

19. For some devices, the manufacturer can
contact the device…

20. …and alter it without the user’s knowledge.

21. …and alter it without the user’s knowledge.
Amazon removed
copies of George
Orwell’s novels from
Kindles without their
owners’ knowledge, let
alone permission

22. It’s all nice and legal.
“Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right to automatically
update, modify and/or reinstall the Barnes & Noble
eReader Software. “
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/include/terms_of_us

23. Because you gave them permission.
“By visiting any area on the Barnes & Noble.com Site,
creating an account, [blah blah blah blah blah blah],a
User is deemed to have accepted the Terms of Use.”
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/include/terms_of_us

24. Does anyone care about ereaders and
privacy?

25. Does anyone care?
Do a search for
“ereaders” and
“privacy”

26. You won’t find much

27. Everything you find refers to this:

28. The Electronic Frontier Foundation
compared manufacturers’ privacy policies

30. Overdrive and privacy
“When a visitor borrows an eBook or other digital item
from a library or school catalog, OverDrive does not
collect or maintain any personal information.”
http://overdriveblogs.com/library/2011/10/04/a-note-on-library-patron-and-
student-privacy/

31. Overdrive and privacy
“In order to check out or place a hold on a title… we
validate the status of a visitor’s library card (active or
inactive), but do not obtain any information regarding
their identity from this process.”
http://overdriveblogs.com/library/2011/10/04/a-note-on-library-patron-and-
student-privacy/

32. Overdrive and privacy
“…third-parties may require visitors to register using an
email address to access their software or services.”
http://overdriveblogs.com/library/2011/10/04/a-note-on-library-patron-and-
student-privacy/

33. Overdrive and privacy
 Added Google Analytics to Overdrive Media Console
in Oct. 2012
 Unclear what data is being gathered
 Amazon gets transaction information when Kindle-
format ebooks are checked out via Overdrive
http://www.infodocket.com/2012/10/12/overdrive-releases-updated-media-
console-app-also-releases-app-for-kindle-fire/

34. Patrons move from one privacy policy to
another

35. Patrons move from one privacy policy to
another
“The notice…is an explicit
acknowledgement that
neither a library’s nor
OverDrive’s privacy policy
applies to library patrons
accessing titles via the
Kindle.”

36. Is this Big Brother?

37. Is this Big Brother?
“the information could be subpoenaed
to check someone's alibi, or as
evidence in a lawsuit.”
http://www.npr.org/2010/12/15/132058735/is-your-e-book-reading-up-on-

38. This IS “Big Content”

39. This IS “Big Content”

40. This IS “Big Content”

41. What’s a reader to do?
 Understand device manufacturer’s privacy policies
 Understand the risk before buying
 Wait to buy an ereader

42. What’s a library to do?
 Understand privacy policies.
 Ask vendors about the technologies that are being
implemented.
 Communicate privacy concerns to vendors.
 Turn down vendors that cannot satisfy privacy
concerns.

43. Further reading
 E-Reader Privacy Chart, 2012 Edition
https://www.eff.org/pages/reader-privacy-chart-2012
A Note on Library Patron and Student Privacy by
Lindsey Levinsohn
http://overdriveblogs.com/library/2011/10/04/a-note-on-
library-patron-and-student-privacy/
Is Your E-Book Reading Up On You? by Martin Kaste
http://www.npr.org/2010/12/15/132058735/is-your-e-
book-reading-up-on-you

44. Further reading
OverDrive, Amazon Privacy Disclaimer Pops Up in
Wisconsin; in Virginia, Questions About Catalog
Disparities by Michael Kelley
http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2011/12/ebooks/overdriv
e-amazon-privacy-disclaimer-pops-up-in-wisconsin-
in-virginia-questions-about-catalog-disparities/
Privacy and Confidentiality by the American Library
Association
http://www.ala.org/offices/oif/ifissues/privacyconfidentia
lity