Many of the big Internet companies whose services, applications, and operating systems we all use, occupy a unique position of power. To surveil us, governments need their help. However, these companies and their advertising-supported business models require that we trust them with our sensitive, private data. In the wake of the NSA disclosures, that trust is vanishing.
Can the companies find a way to restore user trust without destroying their advertising-supported services? What happens when governments go nuclear and demand the companies' encryption keys?
Speakers
- Chris Soghoian is the Principal Technologist at the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. He is also a Visiting Fellow at Yale Law School's Information Society Project. He served as the first ever in-house technologist at the Federal Trade Commission's Division of Privacy and Identity Protection.
- Stephen Hubbell, of the Open Society Fellowship program, moderates.
Read more
Voices
Government Surveillance and the Internet in a Post-Snowden World
Open Society Fellow Chris Soghoian explains the ominous implications of widespread government surveillance.
National Security and Human Rights
Rebuilding and Resilience: 20 Years Since 9/11
On the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Open Society shares reflections from partners on the road traveled since—and the hard work still ahead.
19 Shameful Years
Torture’s Terrible Toll
The horror stories emanating from Guantanamo Bay shock the conscience. It is long past time to close the prison.