Symposium 2005

Big Brother in the Information Age: Law, Technology, and Privacy Rights

April 21-22, 2005 Austin and Langdell Hall, Harvard Law School

Your cell phone. Your email account. Your medical care. Your box of Cheerios. Modern technology has brought us some astonishing innovations which make life more convenient. But do they come with a price?

RFID has the capacity to make shopping and consuming more convenient and cheaper. DNA collection has limitless potential for physicians and law enforcement. Modern wiretapping technologies allow the government to catch criminals undetected. However, accompanying each of these important technologies are corresponding fears that our privacy rights may be in jeopardy. Are modern technologies ushering a modern equivalent of 1984? Or can privacy rights be preserved or altered in the context of these new technologies? To what extent can laws be enacted to balance technology and privacy effectively and ethically?

The Harvard Journal of Law & Technology invites you to explore these fascinating questions at our annual symposium. Joining us will be some of the country’s leading scholars, attorneys, authors, activists, and industry players for a weekend of debate, insight, and excitement.

All events are free and open to the public. We only ask that you come with an open and inquisitive mind. If you would like to join us for free lunch (who says there’s no such thing), then please see the sidebar for registration, schedule, and speaker information. We’re even giving away a free IPOD to a lucky attendee of our symposium. As long as you’ll ignore the little monitoring device attached to it…

We look forward to seeing you on April 21 and 22!!