What Does Privacy Mean in an Open Society?
Watching You, Watching Me – Finissage
New York-i Nyílt Társadalom Intézet / Open Society Foundations, New York
Edward Snowden’s revelation that the U.S. government is collecting metadata primarily, but not exclusively on its citizens, has put the question of security, privacy, and transparency at the forefront of policy debates throughout the world. The rise of transparency can diminish privacy for individuals and groups. Nonetheless, polling shows that most citizens are not particularly alarmed. But will the November 14 attacks in Paris push European countries to embrace the surveillance state? The threat of terrorism throws into stark relief the struggle between the need for security and the right to privacy. Furthermore, calls for privacy rights have often been used to defend practices that are antithetical to an open society, such as racism and misogyny.
Members of the panel discussion:
Roger Berkowitz, Associate Professor of Political Studies and Human Rights; Academic Director, Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities, Bard College
Rosa Brooks, Law Professor, Georgetown University; Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow,
New America Foundation
Anja Kovacs, Director, Internet Democracy Project
Malte Spitz, German Green Party Politician
Ethan Zuckerman, Director, Center for Civic Media, MIT Media Lab
The program is in English.
The video recording of this event is available on Blinken OSA’s YouTube channel.