Texas LinuxFest 2014: Online Privacy Panel Recap

“The only way to protect your privacy is for the people to rise up and demand it.” – W. Scott McCollough at Golden Frog’s online privacy panel at Texas LinuxFest

Texans care about their online privacy. Linux systems admins care about their online privacy. When we combined the two groups during our recent panel discussion at Texas LinuxFest, the result was a packed house and a spirited discussion.

The panel focused on the state of current privacy legislation, how tech companies can fight subpoenas from law enforcement, and how to evangelize citizens to use encryption technologies in the fight against government surveillance.

A standing-room only crowd joined an all-star panel that was so connected to the issues, it easily could have had this discussion on Capital Hill. In spite of this esteemed group, the audience was the MVP of the event. The group clearly cared about these issues and engaged with the panelists making for an invigorating and lively discussion.

Panel Details

“Online Privacy” and “Internet Freedom” are at the top-of-mind for many because of the constant new revelations about government surveillance, and massive data collection by corporations. Golden Frog is pleased to welcome a very distinguished panel that will examine the current state of online privacy, what simple steps citizens can take to protect themselves and where government legislation is heading in the “NSA era.”

The panel included:

• Ron Yokubaitis, Co-CEO of Golden Frog, Data Foundry & Giganews
• W. Scott McCollough, Principal, McCollough|Henry PC
• Brian Hauss, Legal Fellow, ACLU
• Scott Henson, Policy Director, Innocence Project of Texas
• Justin Freeman, Corporate Counsel, Rackspace (moderator)

A big thank you to everyone that attended. If you weren’t able attend you can watch the Texas LinuxFest Online Privacy Panel with the full transcript.

After the panel, Michael Douglass, Co-CTO of Golden Frog, detailed the company’s history, easy-to-use services and fight for online privacy and security.