// Comparison

La vie privée, un problème de vieux cons ? vs RGPD et droit des données personnelles: Which Should You Read?

Two cybersecurity books on Privacy, compared honestly: who each is for, what each does best, and which to read first.

Beginner
3/52010
La vie privée, un problème de vieux cons ?

Jean-Marc Manach

A provocative, well-reported take on privacy in the digital age — answering the cliché that 'young people don't care about privacy' — by an investigative journalist specialised in surveillance.

Intermediate
3/52021
RGPD et droit des données personnelles

Fabrice Mattatia

A complete French manual on data-protection law under the GDPR and the 2018 loi Informatique et Libertés — obligations, rights and how to comply — by an engineer and doctor of law.

Read this if

Readers interested in the privacy debate and surveillance who want a sharp, journalistic French perspective rather than a technical guide.
DPOs, developers, managers and students who need a clear, structured guide to GDPR obligations and French data-protection law in practice.

Skip this if

Anyone after practical privacy tooling or current detail; it's a 2010 essay, so the services it discusses have changed even if the argument hasn't.
Readers outside the EU legal context, or anyone wanting security technique; it's a legal-compliance manual, and law changes, so check the latest edition.

Key takeaways

  • A sharp French essay dismantling the 'nothing to hide / young people don't care' clichés about privacy.
  • Manach is a specialist surveillance journalist, so the reporting is grounded.
  • Read it for the argument and framing; as a 2010 essay, treat the specific services as dated.
  • A clear, complete French manual on GDPR and data-protection law for non-lawyers.
  • Mattatia is both an engineer and a doctor of law, so it bridges technical and legal worlds.
  • Law evolves: use the most recent edition and verify against current CNIL guidance.

How they compare

La vie privée, un problème de vieux cons ? and RGPD et droit des données personnelles are both rated 3/5 in our catalog. Pick by topic preference and reading style rather than by rating.

La vie privée, un problème de vieux cons ? is pitched at beginner level. RGPD et droit des données personnelles is pitched at intermediate level. Read the easier one first if you're not yet comfortable with the topic.

La vie privée, un problème de vieux cons ? and RGPD et droit des données personnelles both cover Privacy, Policy, so reading them in sequence reinforces the same material from different angles.

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