Uncontrolled Surveillance: Regulation and Export Controls
Channel: Access Now
Date: 20/03/2014

Danny O'Brien, International Director, EFF (Moderator) 

Participants: 
Fukami, Chaos Computer Club 
Collin Anderson, Independent Researcher
Tim Maurer, Research Fellow, OTI

There's increasing controversy over the role that American and European companies like Blue Coat, Gamma International, and Hacking Team have played in exporting technologies to governments that violate human rights and have used the technology for Internet censorship and surveillance. The question on the table: how to deal with it? In December 2013, the 41 countries that are part of the multilateral Wassenaar arrangement took steps towards bringing some of these technologies under the umbrella of export controls. However, some in the technology community are critical of export controls, based on the experience of the Crypto Wars in the 90s. This session considered the best way to curb the abuse of surveillance technologies by examining the debate around export controls. Key questions included the merits and demerits of current export control proposals, and ways to minimize potential collateral damage to innovation, free speech, and tech development.