CENSORSHIP 2020: The Future of Free Speech Online Panel

Posted in News

The DC Chapter of the Internet Society,
in conjunction with the U.S. Department of State,
invite you to an informal discussion on

CENSORSHIP 2020: The Future of Free Speech Online

Monday, June 25, 2012
5:00-5:30 PM Networking
5:30-7:00 PM Discussion

Hosted by the Communication, Culture and Technology Program of Georgetown University
2nd Floor, Car Barn, 3520 Prospect St., N.W. , Washington , DC (enter from Prospect St.)

The Arab Spring demonstrated how Internet technologies such as Twitter, blogs, and Facebook could be used to mobilize protesters, publicize corruption and human rights violations, and connect activists and emigres. But in Iran , Syria , and elsewhere, we have seen repressive governments use the Internet to identify and track dissidents, to spread disinformation, and defame political opponents. Will the technologies of anonymization win out over new digital monitoring tools? Will new wireless data technologies foster democracy–or lead to more effective tracking and surveillance? Join us for an informal discussion with six people fighting for free speech on the Internet in their country–and around the world:

Dlshad Othman (Syria), an activist and IT engineer providing Syrians with digital security tools

Pranesh Prakash (India), a blogger and cyberlaw expert who is promoting a free Internet and online freedom of speech.

Koundjoro Gabriel Kambou (Burkina Faso), a journalist at Lefaso.net, is promoting human rights, democracy particularly among young people.

Sopheap Chak (Cambodia), the Deputy Director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) and one of Cambodia ’s leading bloggers.

Andres Azpurua (Venezuela) has trained 300 youth on using Web 2.0 tools to publicize human rights violations.

Emin Milli (Azerbaijan), a writer who is using YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to spread information about human rights violations.

Moderator: Ambassador (ret.) Richard Kauzarlich, Deputy Director, Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC), George Mason University, http://traccc.gmu.edu/

For more details, visit censorship2020.eventbrite.com

Street parking available is on Prospect Street and other streets north of the Car Barn.