12th CONFERENCE ON COMPUTERS, FREEDOM AND PRIVACY

摘要

For this year's conference, participants do not have to manufacture hypothetical scenarios to debate situations that might warrant government encroachments on our civil liberties. The tragic events of September 11 are understandably at the forefront of many of the sessions, making everyone wonder how much freedom and privacy should be sacrificed in hopes of achieving at least the illusion of security and safety. Immediately after the terrorist attacks there was a rush to enact laws (that expanded law enforcement's surveillance powers not only in the USA but also in Canada, seven European countries, and Australia. There is harsh criticism of the USA Patriot Act throughout the conference with one speaker characterizing it as "the eavesdropping equivalent of weapons of mass destruction." In attempting to prevent future attacks, the government has even been given the power to track the Web and e-mail activities of all citizens.