This Thursday: Speaking at US Congressional Commission on "Twitter v. Tyrants"

I’m honored to have been asked to participate in a hearing being held by the US Helsinki Commission this Thursday, in Washington, D.C. While my enthusiasm for the power and potential of new media will be evident, I hope to bring a metered tone to this discussion, laying out a number of issues, including the risks to activists utilizing these tools, the role of corporations in surveillance, as well as issues with the U.S. Government’s own position towards the use of these tools for domestic dissent…

“Twitter against Tyrants: New Media in Authoritarian Regimes”
Thursday, October 22, 2009, 2:00 p.m.
1539 Longworth House Office Building

This briefing will consider the ways in which new media and Internet communication technologies affect the balance of power between human rights activists and authoritarian governments. Panelists will focus on new media’s role in protests and elections, the ways in which it empowers civil society activists, and the darker side: how dictators use new technology to control and repress their citizens.

The following panelists are scheduled to speak:

• Daniel Calingaert, Deputy Director of Programs, Freedom House
• Nathan Freitas, Adjunct Professor, New York University Interactive Telecom Program;
developer of groundbreaking technology for protests
• Evgeny Morozov, Yahoo! Fellow at Georgetown University’s E.A. Walsh School of
Foreign Service; contributing editor, Foreign Policy
• Chris Spence, Chief Technology Officer, National Democratic Institute

Read more about the briefing… Hope to see you there!