Do Humans Have Rights in the Digital Age? A Transatlantic Dialogue

Manny’s, 3092 16th Street (x Valencia), San Francisco

October 30, 6:00 pm

AI, autonomous robots, social scoring, mass surveillance, data leaks and monopoly power. Digital technologies and platform monopolies have created challenges to our democratic rights and values. 

With so little leadership coming from the Trump administration, Europe has been at the forefront of efforts to regulate internet-based platform companies and their use of our private data. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has become a model for other countries and states, such as California’s own Consumer Privacy Act. Now, a group of renowned German experts, lawyers, politicians and net activists has drafted a "Charter of Fundamental Digital Rights," like a Universal Declaration of Human Rights for the digital age. The Charter has been widely discussed in Germany and the European Parliament. Could this proposal shape the digital future in the US for the better? How would you regulate our digital future?

Come join this dialogue between US and German leaders, and be prepared to offer your own ideas about digital rights and the challenges to ensuring that society benefits from technology and innovation.

Speakers:  

Dr. Heinz Bude is one of Germany’s most renowned sociologists. His books include “Society of Fear” and “The Mood of the World.” Dr. Bude is one of the co-authors of the "Charter of Fundamental Digital Rights."

Rebecca MacKinnon is director of Ranking Digital Rights at New America in Washington DC, and the author of Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom. Previously she was CNN’s bureau chief in Beijing and Tokyo.

Malte Spitz is Secretary General of the German Society for Civil Rights. He is the author of "What are you doing with my data?" and "Data - The Oil of the 21st Century? Sustainability in the Digital Age." He is a member of the Federal Executive Board of the German Green Party and his TED talk “Your phone company is watching” has received 1.7 million views. 

Heinrich Wefing is an editor and Deputy Head of the politics department at the newspaper Die Zeit (which is like the “New York Times” of Germany). From 2002 to 2004 he reported for the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung from San Francisco.