Protecting Civil Liberties in the War on Terror

Seminar, 25 November 2004, i-studio5

Cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances

Barry Steinhardt, Director of the Technology & Liberty Program, American Civil Liberties Union

Abstract

The United States is at risk of turning into a full-fledged surveillance society. The tremendous explosion in surveillance-enabling technologies, combined with the ongoing weakening in legal restraints that protect our privacy, mean that we are drifting toward a surveillance society. The good news is that it can be stopped. Unfortunately, right now the big picture is grim. And worse yet, it is having spill-over effects on other countries.

Barry Steinhardt served as Associate Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) between 1992 and 2002. In 2002, he was named as the inaugural Director of the ACLU's Program on Technology and Liberty.

He has spoken and written widely on privacy and information technology issues to audiences ranging from the National Conference of State Legislatures, to the National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence, to the Hoover Institute, to the UNESCO Conference on Intellectual Property. At the invitation of members of the Japanese Parliament, Steinhardt gave a series of lectures in Japan on electronic surveillance in the information age.

He has written on privacy issues and free expression issues in a variety of periodicals ranging from USA Today, to CIO Magazine, to the Journal of the Davos World Economic Forum.

Barry Steinhardt is a frequent guest on news and talk programs and has appeared on such programs as the Today Show, CNN's Crossfire, CBS's Face the Nation and Morning News, and The Donahue Shows.

This seminar is part of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded ICTs in the Contemporary World: work management and culture series and is open to the public. UK PhD students are particularly encouraged to participate and their travels costs are subsidised. For more information about support for doctoral students email e.s.keys@lse.ac.uk.

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