SXSW 2017: Vote for Golden Frog’s Panels

Golden Frog submitted 3 panels to the SXSW PanelPicker this year, and we’d love to share our insights at the 2017 conference. Help us make it to SXSW  – read about our panels below and cast your votes now!

China’s Great Firewall and its War on the Internet

How would you feel if major sites such as Gmail, Facebook and YouTube were blocked? What if you couldn’t access news freely, and the information available online was highly filtered or censored? How would you react if sharing your opinion came with serious consequences?

This is the reality for nearly ¼ of the world’s online population. For the 700 million Internet users in China, access to the Internet is strictly controlled and censored through a filtering mechanism called the Great Firewall.

In this panel we’ll look at the far-reaching effects the Great Firewall has on individuals and businesses, trade and innovation. We’ll explore the impact of increasing censorship in China, and the methods people are using to circumvent the Great Firewall in an effort to access a free, unrestricted Internet. Vote for this panel now.

Integrate to Innovate: Partnering to Offer Privacy

Privacy is important. As privacy and security concerns dominate consumer mindsets, companies across industries are realizing they must respond by incorporating privacy into their products. But how does a global brand enhance privacy for users? What’s the best way to improve privacy when it’s outside your realm of expertise? One solution-partnerships.

We’ll explore how brands are incorporating privacy into their offerings through partnerships. We’ll look at ways to find and connect with partners and benefits of doing so. We’ll examine how, as a privacy provider, we partner with major companies outside our space to meet their needs and bring privacy protections to new and diverse audiences. Vote for this panel now.

You Are Not Anonymous: The Myth of Online Privacy

The Internet is rife with promises of total anonymity. Privacy providers, and VPN services in particular, love to claim users are anonymous when using their services, but unfortunately this a false promise. In today’s online world achieving anonymity is an impossible goal. These incorrect claims are misleading, and what’s even more concerning is they lure unsuspecting users into a false sense of security online.

I’ll explore the difference between privacy and anonymity, and debunk some myths being perpetuated on the Internet. I’ll explain why online privacy is about reducing your overall online footprint to raise the cost of surveillance, instead of chasing the false promise of anonymity. Vote for this panel now.

More About SXSW

For those who don’t know, SXSW is an annual conference and festival that takes place in Austin, Texas each March. The Interactive portion of the conference focuses on technology and creativity, and includes five days of panels and other events. Golden Frog hosted a panel and party at SXSW last year – you can read all about it here. Please vote for our panels and help us make it to SXSW this year – we’d love to be an official panel and share our insights with you!