CFP 2011 Conference to address the Future of Technology and Human Rights

By EDRi · May 18, 2011

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Deutsch: [CFP 2011 Konferenz beschäftigt sich mit Zukunftstechnologien und Menschenrechten | http://www.unwatched.org/EDRigram_9.10_CFP_2011_Konferenz_zu_Zukunftstechnologien_und_Menschenrechten]

The 21st Annual Computers Freedom and Privacy Conference (CFP 2011) will be
held on 14 – 16 June 2011 in Washington DC, USA, at the Georgetown
University Law Center.

CFP conferences traditionally look at the technology and policy space with
an eye toward predicting what innovation might bring in relation to human
rights. It is a yearly gathering of activists, thinkers, government,
legislative, NGOs, business to discuss differing views on controversial
issues related to technology and policy. The conference is open to the
general public.

“The Future is Now” is the theme of this year conference. Participants will
address emerging issues such as the role of social media in the democracy
movement in the Middle East and North Africa; technology and social media to
support human rights; the impact of mobile personal computing technology on
freedom and privacy; smart grid, e-health records, consumer location-based
advertising. cybersecurity, cloud computing, net neutrality, federated ID,
ubiquitous surveillance.

The program is structured around three days, with the 1st day dedicated to
privacy issues, the second to human rights and Freedoms, and the third to
computing and technology. A particular effort has been undertaken this year
to increase the international scope of the conference. Keynote addresses
will be given daily by prominent speakers, including Alessandro Acquisti
(CMU), Mona Altahawy (Columnist), Dannah Boyd (Microsoft), Agnès Callamard
(Article 19), Cameron Kerry (US DoC), Edith Ramirez (FTC Commissioner),
Bruce Schneier (BT).

EDRi is involved both in the organization and in the participation to this
event through representatives of its members and observers. Meryem Marzouki
(France) chairs the ‘Human Rights and Freedom’ day program subcommittee, and
will be moderating a session on “MENA Beyond Stereotypes: Technology of Good
and Evil Before, During and After Revolutions”. Katarzyna Szymielewicz
(Poland), Ralf Bendrath (Germany), Cedric Laurant (Belgium), and others will
address “The Global Challenge of Mandatory Data Retention Schemes”. European
issues and persectives will also be highlighted during the session on “A
Clash of Civilizations: The EU and US Negotiate the Future of Privacy”, with
the participation of Jan Philipp Albrecht, German MEP.

Together with the many other panels on currently hot issues in Europe, such
as the debate on technical intermediaries immunity or liability or the
impact on minorities and migrants of airport security measures and PNR data
collection, these sessions promise a very exciting conference this year.

All about CFP 2011 – Program, Speakers, Committee, Registration (14-16.06.2011)
http://www.cfp.org/2011

(contribution by Meryem Marzouki – EDRi)