Further Reading — Chapter 19

Foundational Works on Coercive Control

1. Stark, Evan. Coercive Control: How Men Entrap Women in Personal Life. Oxford University Press, 2007.

The foundational text for understanding coercive control as distinct from episodic violence. Stark's analysis of how surveillance, isolation, and monitoring function as instruments of ongoing domination is essential for understanding why tech-facilitated surveillance in intimate relationships is so damaging. The book is dense but its core concepts are accessible; Chapters 1–3 and 9–11 are most directly relevant to this chapter's concerns. This work directly influenced the UK's 2015 coercive control legislation.

2. Citron, Danielle Keats. The Fight for Privacy: Protecting Dignity, Identity, and Love in the Digital Age. Norton, 2022.

Citron's analysis of how digital privacy violations — including stalkerware, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, and surveillance in relationships — cause concrete harms to individuals. The book provides the most current and accessible legal analysis of privacy in intimate contexts. Chapters 3 and 5 are directly relevant to this chapter. Accessible to undergraduate readers.

Stalkerware and Technology-Facilitated Abuse

3. National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV). "Technology Safety Annual Survey." NNEDV / Safety Net, 2020.

NNEDV's annual survey documents the prevalence and nature of technology use in domestic violence cases, drawing on responses from domestic violence advocates who work directly with survivors. The survey consistently finds technology abuse in the large majority of domestic violence cases and provides the most current data on how specific technologies are used as abuse tools. Free at nnedv.org.

4. Coalition Against Stalkerware. "Stalkerware Detection Report." CAS Annual Reports, 2020–present.

The coalition's annual reports documenting stalkerware detection rates, product landscape, survivor resources, and regulatory developments. These reports represent the most systematic available data on stalkerware prevalence and are updated annually. Free at stopstalkerware.org.

5. Woodlock, Delanie. "The Abuse of Technology in Domestic Violence and Stalking." Violence Against Women, 2017.

An academic study documenting the patterns of technology abuse in domestic violence and stalking cases, with analysis of how different technologies are used and what they mean within the context of coercive control relationships. Available through academic databases.

Parental Monitoring

6. The Markup and Motherboard. "The App That Stalks You." The Markup, December 2021.

The investigation into Life360's location data brokerage practices, documenting the gap between the app's family-safety marketing and its commercial data extraction model. Essential reading for understanding how commercial family technology connects to the surveillance capitalism ecosystem. Free at themarkup.org.

7. Valkenburg, Patti M., and Jessica Taylor Piotrowski. Plugged In: How Media Attract and Affect Youth. Yale University Press, 2017.

A research-based analysis of how digital media affects adolescent development, including the effects of parental monitoring on adolescent autonomy, trust, and risk behavior. Provides the developmental research context for evaluating parental monitoring claims. Chapters 7–8 are most relevant.

8. Federal Trade Commission. "FTC Bans SpyFone and CEO from Surveillance Industry." FTC Press Release and Complaint Documents, September 2021.

The primary source documents for the SpyFone case examined in Case Study 19.1. The FTC complaint is a detailed account of stalkerware practices and the legal theory for holding them unlawful. The press release and associated materials are free at ftc.gov.

9. Citron, Danielle Keats, and Mary Anne Franks. "Criminalizing Revenge Porn." Wake Forest Law Review, 2014.

While focused on revenge porn specifically, Citron and Franks' analysis of how intimate image abuse relates to broader patterns of sexual surveillance and control provides important context for the legal landscape governing surveillance in intimate relationships. The article's argument for criminalizing intimate image abuse has influenced subsequent legislation and is directly applicable to arguments for criminalizing stalkerware. Available through law review databases and SSRN.

Resources for Students

10. National Domestic Violence Hotline. Technology Safety Planning Guide. thehotline.org/resources/technology-safety.

A practical guide for survivors on assessing and securing digital privacy, including guidance on auditing smart home devices, securing accounts, and making safety plans in the context of technology-facilitated abuse. This is a living document, updated regularly. The hotline (1-800-799-7233) is available 24/7 for support and referrals. Free at thehotline.org.