0:00:19.501,0:00:23.751 Hi, I'm the victim[br]of an online consent violation. 0:00:23.767,0:00:25.973 It might seem like a weird wording to you, 0:00:25.974,0:00:27.981 but I really hope by the end of this talk 0:00:27.982,0:00:30.067 that consent is going to be[br]a central tenet 0:00:30.068,0:00:32.752 of how you speak about online rights. 0:00:32.753,0:00:34.794 So let's start, what happened to me? 0:00:35.784,0:00:40.235 In 2011, I woke up, and I couldn't enter[br]my email or Facebook. 0:00:40.236,0:00:42.508 By the time I gained access into it, 0:00:42.509,0:00:46.750 I realized that I have been a victim[br]of what is right now called revenge porn. 0:00:46.751,0:00:49.763 But let's walk through[br]what happened to me. 0:00:49.764,0:00:53.751 At some point, a person decides[br]that they will violate my consent. 0:00:53.752,0:00:57.254 They break into my email,[br]they steal my private material, 0:00:57.255,0:00:59.511 they publish it online, 0:00:59.512,0:01:02.747 and then a site[br]starts profiting off of it, 0:01:02.748,0:01:05.748 all against my consent,[br]most of it illegal. 0:01:05.749,0:01:07.989 Now we call it revenge porn. 0:01:07.990,0:01:09.230 Because we call it that, 0:01:09.231,0:01:11.961 you might know what I'm talking about[br]is graphic material. 0:01:11.962,0:01:13.223 For a long while, 0:01:13.224,0:01:16.288 I also thought that this was bad[br]because it was graphic material. 0:01:16.289,0:01:19.763 I thought I felt shame and I felt pain,[br]because it was graphic. 0:01:19.764,0:01:22.020 But I realized, when I looked around me, 0:01:22.021,0:01:25.231 that loads of people[br]were publishing graphic material, 0:01:25.232,0:01:28.241 were participating in graphic acts,[br]and they were fine. 0:01:28.242,0:01:31.503 It was not a problem for them,[br]but it was a problem for me. 0:01:31.504,0:01:35.071 I realized that it was a problem[br]because I hadn't consented, 0:01:35.072,0:01:37.019 because it was against my will, 0:01:37.020,0:01:40.004 that it was not about[br]the content of the material, 0:01:40.005,0:01:43.260 but about the relationship[br]that I had with the material. 0:01:43.261,0:01:46.514 This revealed to me some issues[br]with how we talk about consent, 0:01:46.515,0:01:50.262 and especially, how we talk[br]about privacy and online rights. 0:01:51.242,0:01:54.523 Right now, when we talk[br]about privacy and online rights, 0:01:54.524,0:01:57.237 we use the word private material. 0:01:57.238,0:01:59.495 Private material refers to... 0:01:59.496,0:02:02.762 yeah, no one actually really knows[br]what private material is. 0:02:02.763,0:02:06.377 Is it our address, is it our name,[br]is it our phone number, what is it? 0:02:06.378,0:02:07.697 We use it all the time. 0:02:07.698,0:02:11.203 Governments, journalists[br]all talk about this private material, 0:02:11.204,0:02:13.252 but none of us really knows what it is. 0:02:13.253,0:02:14.796 And it's really important, 0:02:14.797,0:02:17.907 because it seems that a lot of people[br]do worry about surveillance, 0:02:17.918,0:02:21.252 you've all heard about the NSA,[br]you've all heard about Edward Snowden, 0:02:21.256,0:02:23.501 and you've probably heard[br]of people like me. 0:02:23.502,0:02:27.247 All these things are related,[br]it all about internet rights. 0:02:27.248,0:02:31.775 When we talk about privacy, we put[br]the focus on the nature of the content, 0:02:31.776,0:02:36.255 but the problem is, private content[br]is different to everyone. 0:02:36.256,0:02:40.270 Everyone has a different relationship[br]with different types of content. 0:02:40.271,0:02:44.261 I want to switch our conversation[br]from privacy to consent. 0:02:44.262,0:02:48.247 Every individual's right to consent[br]needs to be in focus. 0:02:48.248,0:02:52.295 We cannot,[br]from a normative standpoint, say 0:02:52.296,0:02:55.022 which type of content[br]should be able to be published, 0:02:55.042,0:02:59.037 or surveilled, or taken in,[br]and which shouldn't. 0:02:59.038,0:03:03.234 There is no such rule[br]to make that apply to all. 0:03:03.235,0:03:04.746 We can't have powerful people 0:03:04.747,0:03:07.976 [drawing] a line between public[br]and private material, and saying, 0:03:07.977,0:03:11.014 "OK, we decide that you can publish[br]a person's phone number." 0:03:11.015,0:03:13.001 Or "We decide that you could publish 0:03:13.002,0:03:15.261 a picture of a person[br]without asking them." 0:03:15.262,0:03:18.768 Because we all have[br]different relationships to privacy. 0:03:18.769,0:03:22.250 We need to put the focus[br]on the individual rights to consent. 0:03:22.251,0:03:24.764 There are different reasons[br]why this matters. 0:03:24.765,0:03:28.273 The primary one to me[br]is the democratic one, 0:03:28.274,0:03:30.496 because who are the people[br]who are victimized, 0:03:30.497,0:03:33.273 when we use a norm[br]to define something for everyone? 0:03:33.274,0:03:35.535 It is the people[br]who are already on the margins, 0:03:35.536,0:03:37.064 and who are already vulnerable. 0:03:37.065,0:03:39.776 It is young women for example,[br]like it was for me, 0:03:39.777,0:03:43.751 who live a life[br]with marginalized sexual options. 0:03:43.752,0:03:45.521 Sex is used to shame young women, 0:03:45.522,0:03:47.231 and if that happens in real life, 0:03:47.232,0:03:49.756 it's going to be used[br]on the Internet as well. 0:03:49.757,0:03:52.751 It is people who are victims[br]of homophobia, or transphobia, 0:03:52.768,0:03:54.730 who are already vulnerable in society. 0:03:54.731,0:03:57.611 These are the people[br]who need their privacy most. 0:03:58.401,0:04:01.250 So when we talk about privacy[br]from a normative standpoint, 0:04:01.251,0:04:05.752 what we do is we marginalize people[br]who are already vulnerable, 0:04:05.753,0:04:08.742 and we deny rights to the people[br]who need them the most. 0:04:08.743,0:04:10.464 This is a democratic issue, 0:04:10.464,0:04:13.374 and if we do not focus[br]on the individual's right to consent, 0:04:13.374,0:04:16.517 we are going to end up reproducing[br]the same systems of oppression 0:04:16.519,0:04:18.522 that we have in the real world. 0:04:18.523,0:04:22.764 Consent of the individual is[br]a central democratic point of the Internet 0:04:22.765,0:04:26.546 and I'm going to tell you, none of us[br]have the right to consent today. 0:04:26.547,0:04:29.037 None of us has the right to say, 0:04:29.038,0:04:31.922 "I want to decide[br]what is collected off from me, 0:04:31.923,0:04:34.024 and what I want to decide[br]what is published." 0:04:34.025,0:04:37.251 That is what I found out,[br]and it is a democratic problem. 0:04:37.252,0:04:39.753 Even though I am a known activist now, 0:04:39.754,0:04:43.748 I will never have the right to have[br]those old pictures taken down of me, 0:04:43.749,0:04:46.261 because we haven't decided[br]that it's a right yet. 0:04:46.262,0:04:50.259 I don't have a right to consent[br]and neither does anyone on earth. 0:04:50.260,0:04:53.770 This is a huge democratic problem. 0:04:53.771,0:04:55.780 We need to create awareness. 0:04:55.781,0:04:59.496 This loose word privacy[br]that none of us really knows what means 0:04:59.497,0:05:03.083 has made it extremely difficult[br]for people to relate to these things. 0:05:03.084,0:05:05.520 We hear this talk of privacy all the time, 0:05:05.521,0:05:07.761 it's always like, "Oh, internet privacy, 0:05:07.762,0:05:10.507 they are looking up[br]your private information, 0:05:10.508,0:05:14.501 we find out that the American government[br]can find our metadata," 0:05:14.511,0:05:17.751 - what is metadata, no one really knows - 0:05:17.752,0:05:19.505 This has created apathy: 0:05:19.506,0:05:23.517 we all care about our online rights,[br]but we don't know enough about it. 0:05:23.518,0:05:24.682 Why? 0:05:24.683,0:05:29.202 I think the word is privacy,[br]it's gotten twisted out of hand: 0:05:29.203,0:05:30.401 First of all, 0:05:30.402,0:05:35.253 we made it sound like if a person demands[br]online rights and strict online privacy, 0:05:35.254,0:05:37.022 we call them an outlier, 0:05:37.023,0:05:38.995 we say, "What do you want to hide? 0:05:38.996,0:05:43.009 What is that it's so weird that you think[br]people are going to find about you? 0:05:43.010,0:05:45.971 Why do you want privacy [br]so much more than anyone else?" 0:05:45.972,0:05:47.507 This is a mistake. 0:05:47.508,0:05:50.524 Wanting online privacy[br]and wanting the right to consent 0:05:50.525,0:05:53.258 should be everyone's basic right. 0:05:53.259,0:05:55.261 That's because we use the word privacy, 0:05:55.262,0:05:57.375 we make it sound[br]as if it's keeping secret, 0:05:57.376,0:06:00.014 as if someone who wants[br]privacy is an outlier, 0:06:00.015,0:06:02.769 someone doing something[br]a little shoddily, a little weird. 0:06:02.770,0:06:04.794 If we use the word consent, 0:06:04.795,0:06:08.011 it's something[br]that everyone can relate to, 0:06:08.012,0:06:10.752 everyone will relate[br]to the need for consent. 0:06:10.753,0:06:17.529 I think we all have a pretty regular life,[br]but we all also want the right to consent. 0:06:17.530,0:06:20.736 We say, like for example,[br]"I'm a political activist." 0:06:20.737,0:06:25.766 That makes me vulnerable in one way,[br]I don't want my address to be public. 0:06:25.767,0:06:28.995 For some people,[br]they wouldn't mind, but I do mind. 0:06:28.996,0:06:31.001 I we shift the conversation to consent, 0:06:31.002,0:06:33.502 we make it much more easier[br]for people to understand 0:06:33.503,0:06:36.770 what's actually happening[br]with their information online. 0:06:36.771,0:06:38.516 I think that's important. 0:06:38.517,0:06:42.260 Also, like I talked about before,[br]there is the democratic issue. 0:06:42.261,0:06:45.514 There is the issue[br]of not focusing on consent, 0:06:45.515,0:06:48.521 making people on the margins[br]even more vulnerable. 0:06:48.522,0:06:51.582 Meaning the people who [question][br]the top of the status quo, 0:06:51.583,0:06:53.735 people who question sources of power, 0:06:53.736,0:06:56.011 people who do stuff[br]that makes them vulnerable, 0:06:56.012,0:06:57.483 who challenge norms. 0:06:57.484,0:06:58.747 We need these people, 0:06:58.748,0:07:02.271 we, as a collective, should protect them[br]and protect their rights. 0:07:02.272,0:07:04.232 If we form a powerful standpoint, 0:07:04.233,0:07:08.254 make a normative judgment[br]about what privacy is 0:07:08.255,0:07:11.520 we make these people extra vulnerable,[br]and we don't want that. 0:07:11.521,0:07:14.266 We want an Internet[br]that is more progressive, 0:07:14.267,0:07:18.753 that is more collectively embracing[br]of people who challenge the status quo, 0:07:18.754,0:07:22.511 and who makes the world a better place[br]in and outside the Internet. 0:07:22.512,0:07:24.731 That's why we need to focus on consent 0:07:24.732,0:07:28.993 and not on a construction[br]of abstract privacy as we do now. 0:07:29.354,0:07:32.247 Consent should be our focus,[br]because we want a better world, 0:07:32.248,0:07:34.982 and we want the Internet[br]to be a driver of a better world. 0:07:34.982,0:07:36.398 If we don't focus on consent, 0:07:36.398,0:07:38.630 it will be at the cost[br]of political dissidents, 0:07:38.630,0:07:41.246 it will be at the cost[br]of sexual and gender minorities, 0:07:41.246,0:07:44.750 it will be at the behest[br]of racial and ethnic minorities, 0:07:44.751,0:07:46.500 people who are already vulnerable. 0:07:46.501,0:07:49.231 Every individual[br]should have the right to consent, 0:07:49.232,0:07:51.233 and we don't right now. 0:07:51.234,0:07:54.259 This is extremely important. 0:07:54.260,0:07:58.248 It's not about privacy,[br]it's not about keeping secret, 0:07:58.249,0:07:59.978 it's about getting to decide 0:07:59.979,0:08:01.998 what is front stage[br]and what is back stage. 0:08:01.999,0:08:04.756 It's the central part[br]of what it means to be human. 0:08:04.757,0:08:08.746 There is no difference between real life[br]and the Internet anymore, 0:08:08.747,0:08:10.252 these things are the same, 0:08:10.253,0:08:12.791 and of course, we should have[br]the same rights online. 0:08:12.792,0:08:15.791 Even if it's difficult,[br]it's a fight that it's worth fighting, 0:08:15.792,0:08:18.409 because then we make an Internet[br]that is even better 0:08:18.410,0:08:20.959 than the real life that we have right now. 0:08:20.960,0:08:22.230 Thank you very much. 0:08:22.231,0:08:23.915 (Applause)