The State of the Internet 2019

Not long ago in the public eye, “the Internet” was a shining virtual city on an invisible digital hill, a hope for humanity to connect and express themselves freely. Today, that shimmer has dulled as the Internet has fallen prey to corporate surveillance, marketplace monopoly, insecure data, a public sphere destabilized by bad actors and their bots, algorithms that enhance instead of reduce our prejudices and more.

This first Forum @ Civic Hall, in partnership with Facebook and Glitch, takes the opportunity to invite two leading thinkers and makers in the space of technology to take stock of this moment. Director of Forums, Danielle Tomson will kick-off the evening with introductions and some agenda-setting. Each giving “State of the Internet” addresses, we will have veteran blogger and CEO Anil Dash of Glitch, a community of app designers, and renowned hacker, security specialist, and cryptography trainer to vulnerable communities, Matt Mitchell of CryptoHarlem / Tactical Tech. Both will address some of the challenges facing the health of the Internet, and also offer some creative frameworks on how companies, tech workers, users, and governments can each uniquely contribute to making the Internet a better place, not just top-down, but from the bottom up.

After giving their talks, Maurice Cherry, host of Revision Path, will discuss these ideas, taping the conversation for his podcast, which features Black tech workers, designers, and developers, now celebrating its 6th Anniversary! We will also welcome members of Facebook's Government and Politics team to engage the speakers in their perspectives and reflections on the "State of the Internet." Following the talks and Q&A, we will welcome everyone for hors d'oeuvres and beverages.

This Forum is free for Civic Hall members. Check the member newsletter and slack for a complimentary ticket code to use at checkout. Guests of Glitch, Matt Mitchell, Revision Path and Facebook also have access to complimentary ticket codes.We want to make this event available to all who want to attend; if cost is a barrier to your attendance, please reach out to Forums Director, Danielle Tomson, at Danielle [at] civichall.org

About Forums @ Civic Hall

Forums @ Civic Hall is a curated event series about timely subjects at the intersection of technology and civil society, focusing on debating and refining some of the most foundational questions facing technology, governance, media, and political economy.

Disclaimer: This event is not sponsored by or affiliated with the Internet Education Foundation.