Privacy Matters. We’re adamant about that. Apple’s protest this week against the US government’s continued push to weave a backdoor into the iPhones password protection system and thus into everybody’s daily lives is only the latest in a long line of dramatic showdowns. The full extent to which our fundamental right to privacy is under attack continues to be revealed. Simply put, we have a real big problem on our hands.
But the fight back is gaining momentum. Last year at SXSW I caught a sense of hope. No longer were we a community shaken to the core by the revelations of Edward Snowden, like in the previous year, questioning everything we previously took for granted. In 2015, I instead saw a community focused on finding answers and solutions to these problems.
Certainly since then, with scandals around data- and privacy breaches dominating the headlines of every major newspaper across the globe on a daily basis, public opposition to the encroachment of our digital freedoms has strengthened substantially. You’d be hard-pressed to find somebody simply left in the dark.
Now, at this year’s festival, what I’ll be questioning most is what are we willing to do about it? Key for me is seeking out whether we, the public, are putting our opinions about privacy into action, and crucially whether the vast majority of us even know how.
Unveiling Consumer Openness Index 2016
On March 14 at 3pm CT, join us at the Passcode booth (Exhibit Hall 4, booth number 509) in the Austin Convention for the “Free the Internet” forum. As our SXSW’s key highlights, we’ll be unveiling the findings of the 2016 Consumer Openness Index – the second in an annual survey examining the key issues at the heart of the privacy debate today. Joined by CSM Cybersecurity editor Mike Farrell and Emma Llanso, Director of CDT’s Free Expression Project, we’ll be debating exactly how we can take back our online freedoms. Please RSVP at https://nvite.com/COI2016/e0ce.
Policy Happy Hour with CDT and R Street Institute
If you’re in town, make plans with us for the Saturday evening too. In the build-up to unveiling the findings of the much anticipated 2016 Consumer Openness Index report, you can also come catch us at one of the most exclusive parties in town – The Policy Happy Hour at Cru Wine Bar on 238 West 2nd Street, March 12, 5:00-8:00pm. Sponsored by Open-Xchange, Dell and Passcode, The Center for Democracy & Technology and the R Street Institute are bringing together members of the policy community for an invitation-only happy hour during SXSW Interactive. It’s sure to be a great evening of conversation, engagement, and refreshment, and we’d like to extend the invite to you too. If you want to join us for the Policy Happy Hour, please email to Christian.Egle AT open-xchange.com and we’ll send you the exclusive access code to RSVP at https://policyhh.splashthat.com/.
If you value your online freedom, privacy and rights as much as we do (and you should), come and meet with us and make sure the dates above are key parts of your SXSW schedule.
After a momentous 12 months since the world’s brightest and greatest in creativity and business last gathered in Austin, this year’s SXSW is sure to be one hell of a show.
I can’t wait to see you there.
