Webcast: The Future of Human Rights Technology

While new technologies can play a critical role in defending human rights, they can also create unforeseen risks for human rights groups and activists. On October 30, 2014, Benetech Vice President of Human Rights Enrique Piracés joined fellow panelists Iain Levine, Deputy Executive Director at Human Rights Watch, and Sam Gregory, Program Director at WITNESS, as well as moderator Andrew Rasiej, Founder of Personal Democracy Media and the Personal Democracy Forum, in a discussion of key issues at the intersection of human rights and technology.

The program examined developments such as the use of satellite imagery, drones, and video forensics for monitoring and accountability for human rights violations; the expanding role of citizen witnesses in human rights reporting and advocacy, especially using camera phones and other widely available technologies; and the need to prevent abusive governments from obtaining data gathered by human rights organizations. The program took place at Roosevelt House, a public policy institute at Hunter College in New York City educating students in public policy and human rights.

You can watch the complete webcast on Livestream.