The Politics of Privacy. Autonomy and Power in the Digital Age

Over the past two decades, digital technologies have transformed how we communicate, organise, and participate in society. At the same time, economic, political, and informational power has become increasingly concentrated, raising fundamental questions about privacy, autonomy, and democratic governance.

The Politics of Privacy brings together leading voices from technology, philosophy, economics, law, and human rights to explore one of the defining challenges of our time: how can freedom flourish in a world increasingly shaped by algorithms?
 

Across 7 essays, contributors examine the rise of technocratic systems, the political significance of privacy, and the potential of encryption, decentralised networks, and open public infrastructure to rebalance power.
 

Rather than advocating a single ideology or solution, the anthology presents a range of practical and intellectual pathways forward—from stronger digital rights and interoperable systems to privacy-preserving technologies, new governance models, and forms of civic participation.
 

Complementing the essays is a guide to digital autonomy, featuring practical recommendations for choosing tools and services that better protect privacy, security, and self-determination, alongside an extensive Web3 glossary.
 

As the first volume in The Politics of Privacy series, this book is both an introduction and an invitation: a guide for readers seeking to better understand—and help shape—the systems governing our digital future.
 

Authors:

Audrey Tang (Civic Technologist)
Cyber Ambassador of Taiwan; former Minister of Digital Affairs (2016–2024)
 

Primavera De Filippi (Legal Scholar)
Research Director at CNRS; Faculty Associate at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society

Joachim Schwerin (Economist)
Researcher (PhD TU Dresden) on tokenisation, Web3 and DAOs; privacy activist (Digital Freedom Declaration); contributed e.g. to the MiCA Regulation

David Chaum (Cryptographer)
Pioneer of digital cash and foundational figure in modern cryptography

Denis Jaromil Roio (Hacktivist)
PhD in Philosophy, applied cryptographer, and founder of Dyne.org, a European open-source and digital sovereignty initiative

Felix Beer (Researcher)
Researcher on governance innovation at the intersection of democracy and emergent technologies, based at Harvard Kennedy School and the Technical University of Munich

Judith De Boer (Lawyer)
Partner at Hertoghs Advocaten and specialist in white-collar crime and tax litigation

Glen Weyl (Economist)
Microsoft research lead, co-author of Radical Markets, and co-founder of the Plurality Institute

Naomi Brockwell (Educator)
Founder and President of the Ludlow Institute, a media and research initiative focused on technology and freedom

Piergiorgio Catti De Gasperi (Activist)
Co-founder and Director of Web3Privacy Now