Balancing Liberty and Security An Ethical Study of U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance, 2001-2009

Atkin's ethical study is a fine piece of academic work. Her guiding principle that politico-legal decisions should have a moral basis is no less crucial than the necessity of questioning, through sound ethical reflection, an implicit or explicit morality that is taken for granted. Liberal societies face the dilemma of vacillating between liberty and security. Atkin develops a theoretico-practical strategy based on the idea of proportionality, beyond both a paternalistic approach and a utilitarian or contractarian calculus. -- Rafael Capurro, International Center for Information Ethics (ICIE)