Computers, Freedom & Privacy, May 2-5 in DC

Reason is proud to once again be a media sponsor for the annual Computers, Freedom & Privacy Conference, whose theme this year is Life, Liberty[*], & Digital Rights.

CFP--"the most important computer conference you've never heard of" according to USA Today--takes place from May 2-5 in Washington, DC.

Keynote speakers include science fiction novelist Vernor Vinge, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Stewart Baker of the Department of Homeland Security. For more information and to RSVP, go here.

Comments

[Ruthless Of Monrovia, Libery]

"Libery" has always been high on my agenda of "things to do today".
Liberries too.

[jf]

Hell, I've been practicing libery all night.

[Nick Gillespie]

[*]: I've added the missing T boys; put it in your pipe and smoke it.

[strat]

I went to many of the early years of this conference. There was a time when it was an OK Corral-like standoff of hackers, attorneys, budding civil rights groups, and FBI agents. Many were a little twitchy and not sure about "those other people."

This conference got it's start in the days where one might experience an FBI raid for publishing a role playing game that contained fictitious computer intrusions. Cryptographic technology was darn near banned for export from the U.S. (even if you were sending it back to the overseas manufacturer, but that's another story), and people on the Internet didn't know what to make of all the new arrivals.

I credit the CFP hotel bar experience with significant "defusing" of many of the tensions amongst those groups. Some good work was done there.

After some years, it seemed like only attorneys were attending, though that's probably not fair. It's hard to strike a balance between discussing critical but potentially esoteric policy issues and keeping everyone engaged.

It looks like CFP may be hitting its stride again. As I've said in the past in the context of Internet policy - the Net is like the street: good things and bad things happen there, and for the most part, people are nice, or at least non-threatening. Now that everyone and their dog has shown up to the party, it's probably time to get some real community discussion going.

[JOhn]

Interesting point of viwe!