Co-Sponsored by the ACLU of Nothern California (Marin Chapter)

The ACLU of Northern California Marin County Chapter is honored to host Cyrus Farivar, a Senior Tech Policy Reporter at Ars Technica, and author of Habeas Data, which shows how the explosive growth of surveillance technology has outpaced our understanding of the ethics, mores, and laws of privacy, and outlines legal cases over the past 50 years that have had an outsized impact on surveillance and privacy law in America. Farivar’s book comes at a time when the ACLU is working with local stakeholders across California to pass city or county laws governing the acquisition and use of technology, and as a state bill moves through the legislative process. These efforts would bring much needed transparency and accountability to the use of surveillance in California, combatting the dangers Farivar uncovers.

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An important look at how 50 years of American privacy law is inadequate for the today's surveillance technology, from acclaimed Ars Technica senior business editor Cyrus Farivar.

Until the 21st century, most of our activities were private by default, public only through effort; today anything that touches digital space has the potential (and likelihood) to remain somewhere online forever. That means all of the technologies that have made our lives easier, faster, better, and/or more efficient have also simultaneously made it easier to keep an eye on our activities. Or, as we recently learned from reports about Cambridge Analytica, our data might be turned into a propaganda machine against us.

In 10 crucial legal cases, Habeas Data explores the tools of surveillance that exist today, how they work, and what the implications are for the future of privacy.

Cyrus Farivar is the Senior Business Editor at Ars Technica and the author of The Internet Elsewhere. He is also a radio producer and has reported for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, National Public Radio, Public Radio International, The Economist, Wired, The New York Times, and others.