Canada’s Privacy Debate Goes Live Online with Glenn Greenwald

By: Lee Rickwood

October 24, 2014
closed digital padlock

Digital privacy and online security will be discussed….online,

A sold-out, in-person talk about online privacy and data security to be delivered by controversial American author Glenn Greenwald will also be online – where it is safe.

Greenwald’s upcoming presentation in Ottawa on Oct 25 will be live streamed and recorded as part of media podcasting and on-demand media plans for the event. A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and lawyer, Greenwald will speak about privacy, state surveillance, and its impact on Canadians at a now sold out event in Ottawa.

The event is to be recorded by the national public affairs specialty channel CPAC, organizers describe, and also live-streamed online by Rabble.ca. OpenMedia and other pro-privacy groups have also released an online video about how the government agency Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) spies on Canadians.

Greenwald’s talk will be followed by a discussion with independent journalist Jesse Brown, the host of the Canadaland podcast.

The event is organized by Bill Owen of Eyestir Communications.

Greenwald is well-known, often criticized and highly regarded for his reporting on the Edward Snowden NSA documents, and how government agencies are conducting invasive surveillance of law-abiding citizens on a massive scale.

Glenn Greenwald

Award-winning author and commentator Glenn Greenwald will speak in Ottawa.

Greenwald is no stranger to Canada, having worked with the CBC to reveal how CSEC monitored thousands of innocent Canadian air travellers, spied on Brazil’s mining ministry, and facilitated a large U.S. spying operation on Canadian soil.

The event is sponsored by OpenMedia.ca, a non-partisan citizen’s coalition seeking to safeguard the privacy rights of Canadians.

“I’m really looking forward to speaking directly with Canadians about privacy and state surveillance,” Greenwald said in a release announcing the event. “Privacy is a fundamental human right that is vital for the health of any democracy. Canadians pride themselves on their democratic values – but sadly their own government is responsible for building a state surveillance apparatus, in cooperation with the N.S.A, that is unparalleled in human history. More and more Canadians are seeing through their government’s deceit and obfuscation, and I’m eagerly anticipating this opportunity to contribute to that debate.”

“Glenn Greenwald’s groundbreaking journalism has sparked a lively and hugely important discussion about how to rein in secretive spy agencies like CSEC,” added OpenMedia.ca Executive Director Steve Anderson. “This government has left Canadians with a huge privacy deficit that we’ll all need to work together to fix – and this event will be a great opportunity to learn more about how best we can do that.”

 

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submitted by Lee Rickwood

 


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