DEMOCRACY FORUM
Who's Watching? Safeguarding Our Privacy
Democracy cannot flourish when privacy is under threat. In this third session of our Democracy Forum series, expert presenters will explore the “brave new world” of mass surveillance, its impact on our everyday lives, and its implications for self-government. In addition, you’ll learn about ways to counter mass surveillance and to protect your privacy.
CONFIRMED SPEAKERS
Cindy Cohn
Cyrus Farivar
Cyrus Farivar
Cindy Cohn has served as executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) since 2015 and served previously as the legal director and general counsel of EFF. She is an internationally renowned authority on digital privacy and surveillance, free speech, and other topics at the intersection of technology and law. In March, she
Cindy Cohn has served as executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) since 2015 and served previously as the legal director and general counsel of EFF. She is an internationally renowned authority on digital privacy and surveillance, free speech, and other topics at the intersection of technology and law. In March, she published a memoir, Privacy’s Defender: My Thirty-Year Fight Against Digital Surveillance. (Photo by Scott R. Kline.)
Cyrus Farivar
Cyrus Farivar
Cyrus Farivar
Cyrus Farivar is an award-winning journalist and author whose work has focused on technology policy, surveillance law, and consumer privacy. He has covered tech policy for several media outlets, including Ars Technica, Forbes, and NBC News. In addition, he has written two books, The Internet of Elsewhere (2011) and Habeas Data (2018). In
Cyrus Farivar is an award-winning journalist and author whose work has focused on technology policy, surveillance law, and consumer privacy. He has covered tech policy for several media outlets, including Ars Technica, Forbes, and NBC News. In addition, he has written two books, The Internet of Elsewhere (2011) and Habeas Data (2018). In 2025, he joined Fire Aside, a startup that develops software for fire departments. He is based in Oakland.
Brian Hofer
Reem Sulaiman
Reem Sulaiman
Brian Hofer is the executive director of Secure Justice. He is also the architect of Oakland’s pioneering surveillance technology ordinance and a former longtime chair of its Privacy Advisory Commission. A privacy advocate known for his work on local government oversight, he specializes in turning civil rights advocacy into enforceable policy that limits unwarranted state spying.
Reem Sulaiman
Reem Sulaiman
Reem Sulaiman
Reem Sulaiman is the senior campaigns director at Fight for the Future, a nonprofit digital rights group that focuses on internet freedom and anti-surveillance advocacy. Previously, she served as the U.S. advocacy lead for the Mozilla Foundation. Based in Oakland, she has deep experience in local civic tech policy and served as an original member of the Oakland Privacy Advisory Commission.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Background
Rulers have spied on their subjects since time immemorial. The less democratic the government, the greater the impulse to monitor its population.
Our founders established safeguards against this behavior—most notably, the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. However, two trends are coalescing to fuel a new and dangerous era of American mass surveillance:
- The rise of Big Tech and digital surveillance capacities that reach far beyond anything that James Madison could have imagined
- A federal government that, instead of upholding the right to privacy, seeks to weaponize technology to consolidate its power and to marginalize or prosecute political rivals
Mass surveillance of American citizens has arrived at federal and local levels.It has the potential to radically alter the lives of every American—and to radically shape the future of our democracy.
Content
Nationally recognized experts will discuss these critical developments:
- The latest “advances” in surveillance technology and deployment
- The actions of the Trump administration to promote mass surveillance
- The growing alliance of Big Government and Big Tech
- The spread of surveillance technology in our communities
- The proliferation of apps on our personal devices (including mobile phones and personal computers) that monitor our actions and speech, both online and offline
- The increasing adoption of mass surveillance methods by ICE and other agencies
- The use of mass surveillance technologies to target, harass, and prosecute people of color and vulnerable populations
Outcomes
Participants will leave with deepened knowledge and understanding of these topics:
- How mass surveillance affects our lives—on our personal devices and in our local communities
- How mass surveillance intersects or conflicts with democracy, privacy, and civil liberties
- How the alliance of Big Government and Big Tech threatens constitutional and legal privacy protections
- How organized citizens can work to protect public safety and civil liberties
SPONSORS
New to Indivisible Palo Alto Plus?
If you're looking for a community to support you in taking action, we'd love to have you join us for an Orientation + Social event from 2:30 PM to 3:00 PM—right before the DEMOCRACY FORUM event—at the same location.