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The Looming Battle Between Technology & Liberty: Define the Digital Future with the World Ethical Data Forum 2021

LONDON, Feb. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 17th-19th, 2021 the World Ethical Data Forum will host a digital event with leading experts and audiences from around the globe to engage in crucial discussions on the current and future concerns surrounding digital surveillance and privacy, cybersecurity, disinformation, algorithmic bias, media freedoms, civil liberties and more.

COVID-19 has forced everyone, abruptly, to live their lives largely online — from work, finances, education, healthcare, politics, and socializing, hyperconnectivity is now a necessity rather than a choice. At the same time, governments, tech companies, and even criminals are exploiting opportunities created by the pandemic to shape online narratives, censor critical speech, build new technological systems of social control, and exploit critical vulnerabilities. From WhatsApp's new privacy policy staging concerns for secure and encrypted platforms to Twitter and various social media sites abusing powers to limit free speech, 2021 is already pushing everyone to consider urgent questions around the future of democracy, freedom of speech, and privacy. Liberty is a complex and sensitive architecture; without proper oversight and consideration, far-reaching decisions made by governments and tech giants can be grave. There is an urgent need, now more than ever, for the public to collaboratively navigate and protect society's digital future.

John Marshall, CEO of World Ethical Data Forum, reflects: "Discussion in good faith remains the very best technology we have for correcting the course of policy and of human behaviour and for the reforging of our creative and moral intuitions. With the potential civil and political consequences of data's abuse so severe, seldom has the need for effective dialogue been as great."

The World Ethical Data Digital Forum encourages the collaboration of seemingly competing worlds, from technology and big business, government and security agencies, policymakers and the media, to human rights lawyers, whistleblowers, and privacy and transparency advocates, bringing to the stage a diverse range of voices. The forum has already confirmed highly influential speakers and panelists such as Cory Doctorow, a multi-award winning novelist and technology activist; Mikko Hyppönen, global cybersecurity expert; and Anne-Marie Eklund Löwinder, Chief Information Security Officer at the Swedish Internet Foundation.

Join the World Ethical Data Forum in defining the most crucial discussion of the digital age. More information and tickets can be found at: https://worldethicaldataforum.org/tickets. If an organisation or individual would like to help strengthen the World Ethical Data Forum's inclusivity by becoming a Patron to applicants for Special Admission tickets, the World Ethical Data Forum warmly invites applications. Tickets purchased under this initiative will immediately be made available to qualifying Special Admission applicants. For more information about the Patron Scheme, please see the World Ethical Data Forum ticket page linked above.

To learn more about the World Ethical Data Forum and its initiatives, visit https://worldethicaldataforum.org/. The World Ethical Data Forum can also be found on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

For any further questions, please contact the the World Ethical Data Forum Press Officer, Saniya Dhanjani at saniya@worldethicaldata.org

SOURCE World Ethical Data Forum