“The Great Hack” Film Spurs D.C. Discussion Around Privacy and Political Micro-targeting
Summary
“I look forward to working with colleagues in the United States and around the world to combat these threats and safeguard elections.” The discussion that followed the film viewing examined the vulnerabilities and remedies for one of the most complex and pressing issues facing lawmakers, technologists and citizens: what is at stake for society now that data has surpassed oil as the world’s most valuable asset? We need to get back to the beginning.” Karen Kornbluh, director at the Digital Innovation & Democracy Initiative of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, is a self-proclaimed “internet optimist,” and has been working in this field since the earliest days of the internet. As part of the panel, she discussed what kinds of structural changes are needed to protect democracy in the age of the internet, including new privacy laws that go beyond notice and consent, creating true transparency online and solving systemic problems that battle misinformation and hacking. We don’t have an agency focused on that.” Emerson T. Brooking, fellow at the Digital Forensic Research Lab of the Atlantic Council and co-author of “LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media,” rounded out the panel, where he spoke about what micro-targeting and personal data will look like in the near future. Everything has to double down on democracy because it is the only thing that stands between us and the chaos that these artists have so brilliantly depicted in The Great Hack.” Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), who has called on the social media companies to work with Congress and provide feedback on ideas he put forward in a white paper discussing potential policy solutions to challenges surrounding social media, privacy, and data security, introduced the event at the Congressional Auditorium.