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Electronic Frontiers Forums is independently produced and has no official connection to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, though we greatly admire their work. Electronic Frontiers Forums originated with Electronic Frontiers Georgia, an independent local activist group.
Are political profiling, micro-targeting, and foreign propaganda undermining democracy as we know it? How effective is social media propaganda anyway? And how do we teach our children to safeguard our legacy of democracy that past generations have died to protect?
Amie Stepanovich (Moderator), Tyra A. Burton, Dwayne Keith Goetzel, Keith Watson
So-called "Internet of Things" devices are infamous for having poor or non- existent security. Is it time for the government to start legislating security requirements? Has the free market failed to respond or create demand for "security as a feature"?
Kurt Opsahl (Moderator), Erica Portnoy, Nathan White, Xavier Ashe
There's a growing effort to promote science, technology, engineering, and math for women and minorities in what have always been male and white dominated fields. What can we do to help, and are we putting too much pressure on girls and children of color to fulfill our own aspirations for them?
Elonka Dunin (Moderator), Dauna L. Bartley, Theda M. Daniels-Race, Hayley Tsukayama
What is Fair Use as it applies to copyright law, and where is the "bright line" guidebook that spells out exactly what's fair? Also, what is the Triennial Review process created by the DMCA, and how does this affect Fair Use?
Courtney Lytle, Meredith Rose (Moderator), Dwayne Keith Goetzel, Dauna L. Bartley
California Consumer Privacy Act: A Model for the Whole USA?
The CCPA becomes effective on January 1, 2020. What does it do, and how will it affect privacy rights in other states outside of California? Is this a good model for the whole country?
Erica Portnoy, Ron Daniels, Hayley Tsukayama (Moderator)
Internet Down Under: Australia's Mandated Backdoors & Other Bad Policy
Australia's push to require backdoors in all mobile devices is just the beginning of a nightmarish scenario for civil rights and civil liberties in that country. What is really going on down under, and has Australia given up on basic principles of democracy?
Kurt Opsahl, Amie Stepanovich, K'Tetch (Moderator)
Depending on the sophistication of the costume, cosplayers may be some of the easiest for a hacker to attack. As we add more automated and smart systems to our creations, lives, and homes, we run higher risks of opening the doors to criminals who want to steal our identities or other information.
Jason Gillam, Kevin Johnson, Eric Kuehn (Moderator), Mic Whitehorn-Gillam
SESTA/FOSTA was passed in the U.S.A. and was supposed to combat sex trafficking. Is it meeting its goals, and what collateral damage is being done? To answer this, we compare its effect on sex trafficking (human slavery) versus consensual sex work, broadly defined.
Meredith Rose (Moderator), Natalie Zina Walschots, Jinx Lierre, TJ Mihill
Facial recognition is becoming ubiquitous in commercial, government, and law enforcement applications, but is well known to identify women and minorities less accurately. Why is this, and what are the risks to individual liberty from mis-identification?
People don't go into public policy because they want to be billionaires; they go into public policy because they care and want to make a difference. How does one get started making contributions in this area, and can it really be turned into a financially sustaining career path?
Andrew Greenberg (Moderator), Amie Stepanovich, Meredith Rose, Erica Portnoy, Karl Grindal, Nathan White
Free as in Speech: The Limits of Politics, Privacy, & Propaganda
This panel will examine contested and politicized definitions of free speech and privacy in specific online contexts, investigating the overlap between conservative and progressive definitions of free speech and analyzing methodology and rationale with a specific case study.
Matthew J. Brown (Moderator), Dr. Rebecca Hill, Dr. Pete Rorabaugh
Famous Unsolved Codes: New Information About the Kryptos Sculpture at the CIA
Well-known cryptographer/author Elonka Dunin shares this year's CNN documentary about the encrypted sculpture/puzzle Kryptos, along with the answers to the first three parts of the puzzle, and new photos and speculations about the famous unsolved section, K4.
Developing Mobile/Web/Desktop Applications with Flutter
See how Flutter using the Dart language permits easy development and deployment across multiple platforms. Our speaker will build an app from scratch, and demonstrate it on mobile, desktop, and web platforms.
Sending Secret Messages: Codes & Ciphers for Kids & Adults
Some messages are for everyone -- like this one, and some are not. While it's getting harder to send a private message, you can come to this session and learn how to create and use simple codes and ciphers to help keep your discussions private. (OK for families)
Burk Hufnagel (Moderator), Chris Godbey, Joss Hufnagel
Indictment of Julian Assange & the First Amendment
Regardless of what you think about Julian Assange, his indictment by the U.S. for his work on Wikileaks has implications for the future of journalism and the First Amendment that we must not ignore.
K'Tetch, Kara J. Chappell, Jairus Khan, TJ Mihill (Moderator)
Reddit has evolved into being a second screen for fans across movies, games, and TV. Whether it's an in-depth theatrical analysis of the latest episode of RuPaul's Drag Race, or the latest Reddit-carrot on Mr. Robot, Reddit communities are in the middle of the action.
Lisa Liebig, Chris Slowe (Moderator), Christine Moellenberndt
Tumblr's artificial intelligence filter is blocking lots of false positives and removing beneficial content. What's missing is the balance that human judgment brings. Is this a sign of things to come across all social media platforms, or all Internet content in general?
Kurt Opsahl, Erica Portnoy, Jairus Khan (Moderator), James Nettles, Natalie Zina Walschots, N. Maxwell Lander
A simple Google search can pull up damaging information on any individual from decades ago, long after any societal debt has been paid. Should there be a right to be forgotten as a basic human right as EU courts claim, and what about people's right to know especially for public figures?
Kurt Opsahl, Amie Stepanovich (Moderator), Dwayne Keith Goetzel, TJ Mihill
As we focus more on the harms of pervasive technology in society, a lot of attention and blame has been placed worldwide on the largest tech companies in the U.S.A. Do these companies deserve the rap they are getting, and will breaking them up into smaller companies do anything to help?
Andrew Greenberg, Amie Stepanovich, Meredith Rose, Jairus Khan, Karl Grindal (Moderator)
Resisting Demands to Search Your Phone While Traveling
What happens if the TSA or CBP demands a password to your device, or biometric login, while you are traveling? Is it legal to refuse, and can you proceed to your destination without having your devices taken from you? What about your Fourth Amendment rights; do you have any while traveling?
Randal L. Schwartz, Kurt Opsahl, Kara J. Chappell, Hayley Tsukayama (Moderator)
Tips, tricks, and advice for the novice or seasoned authors and other content creators to navigate Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. We will take a brief look at the various platforms where authors, artists, etc., promote, and examine the common themes for maximizing engagement.
Gail Z. Martin (Moderator), John G. Hartness, Tyra A. Burton, James Nettles, Troy Fason
One of today's hottest targets for hackers is mobile apps. Hackers are exploiting mistakes made by app developers. In this discussion, you will see attack vectors for mobile apps and see real examples of vulnerable applications and how they were exploited.
Double Feature: Dinkheller & 10 Rules for Dealing with Police Encounters
We will look at police encounters from two different points of view, from that of the officer (Dinkheller), and from that of the person being stopped (10 Rules). A 360-degree view provides the best perspective for surviving a police encounter in today's America. Panel discussion will follow. This panel will last 2 1/2 hours.
Andrew Greenberg (Moderator), Jonathan B. McFarland, Kara J. Chappell, Patrick Shaver
A recent academic study explored the spread of low credibility content by bots, and the risks to modern democracy. We discuss the study and the possibility and legality of regulating bots to safeguard our democracy and society.
Jairus Khan, Karl Grindal (Moderator), Keith Watson
EU Copyright Articles 13/15/17: What it Means in the USA
The European Union passed directives over stringent opposition requiring nearly all Internet publishers to filter content for copyright violations using automated filters. What are the risks, given that filters often fail or over-censor? Also, how will those outside of Europe be affected?
Courtney Lytle, Kurt Opsahl (Moderator), K'Tetch, James Nettles, TJ Mihill
Georgia is moving rapidly to upgrade its voting systems, while the purchase process has been plagued by claims of security problems in the new generation of technology, and vendor favoritism. What are the risks to the integrity of our vote and our democracy?
Hayley Tsukayama, Keith Watson, TJ Mihill (Moderator)
Agile Development, With and Without a Government Shutdown
If you're trying to run an Agile development project with the government, but the government suddenly shuts down for 6 weeks, what do you do? Come learn about Agile, Scaled Agile, and the fun ways to handle it in unusual situations like this.
EffectOfFacebookOnDemocracy.mp3
EffectOfFacebookOnDemocracy.ogg