ARLINGTON, TEXAS, May 14, 2019 — Four esteemed digital privacy experts — a top legal scholar on internet surveillance and the Fourth Amendment, a leading digital civil liberties advocate, a data policy expert, and a journalist who focuses on law and technology — will speak at the Mensa Foundation’s 2019 Colloquium — Privacy in the 21st Century: Mystery or Myth.
The struggle to balance personal privacy and public security is the emergent issue in this era of mass surveillance, internet-connected frying pans, and GPS-enabled computers in the pockets of most Americans. Colloquium 2019, open to the public and scheduled July 2 in Phoenix, explores this transformative tug of war between public knowledge and legal opinion with these speakers:
Orin Kerr, one of the country’s foremost scholars on cybercrime law, is an expert in internet surveillance law, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and the Fourth Amendment. He has briefed and argued cases in the Supreme Court, and seven of his law review articles have been cited in opinions. Kerr is currently the Frances R. and John J. Duggan Distinguished Professor of Law at the USC Gould School of Law.
Danny O’Brien is the International Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a leading digital civil liberties organization. In the United Kingdom, O’Brien fought against repressive anti-encryption law and helped make Parliament more transparent with the FaxYourMP initiative. He co-founded the Open Rights Group, Britain’s digital civil liberties organization.
Alison Pepper is Senior Vice President of Government Relations at the American Association of Advertising Agencies, where she handles issues on the state and federal level related to data security and privacy. A graduate of the Georgia State University College of Law, she has worked for 15 years in technology and data privacy law and public policy in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.
Wendy Davis is a New York City journalist focusing on law, technology, and business. As policy editor at MediaPost, she covers online privacy and other issues affecting the advertising and media industries. Wendy has moderated panels and participated in discussions about privacy for MediaPost, Mozilla, the University of Pennsylvania, and the International Association of Privacy Professionals.
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For more than 40 years, the Mensa Education and Research Foundation has advocated for intelligence by providing scholarships, promoting research, championing gifted youth, and empowering educators. Governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees, the Mensa Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization funded by American Mensa, Mensa members, and other charitable donations. To learn more about the Foundation, visit mensafoundation.org.