We use the Internet every day. We carry smartphones that store our personal information and track our movements. As Canadians, we value our rights to privacy and freedom of speech but how do we negotiate those rights when we don’t own our own data? What is the impact on democracy when people are arrested due to their cell phones being in the location of protests, journalists are intimidated into silence, and governments are spying on each other?

Join us on February 10th as we welcome some special guests to discuss information and communication surveillance, data brokerage, and the balance between security and privacy. Dr. Jonathan Obar, Assistant Professor of Communication and Digital Media Studies at UOIT and collaborator on the IXmaps project,  Laura Tribe, Digital Rights Specialist with OpenMedia, Christopher Parsons, Post-doctoral Fellow at The Citizen Lab, and Brendan de Caires, Programs and Communications Coordinator at PEN Canada, will explore these topics and answer your questions.

Doors open for informal networking at 7:00pm and the discussion starts at 7:30pm. As always, this event is free, you just have to pay for what you order. Please RSVP on Eventbrite to help us plan for attendance.