1
00:00:19,501 --> 00:00:23,751
Hi, I'm the victim
of an online consent violation.

2
00:00:23,767 --> 00:00:25,973
It might seem like a weird wording to you,

3
00:00:25,974 --> 00:00:27,981
but I really hope by the end of this talk

4
00:00:27,982 --> 00:00:30,067
that consent is going to be
a central tenet

5
00:00:30,068 --> 00:00:32,752
of how you speak about online rights.

6
00:00:32,753 --> 00:00:34,794
So let's start, what happened to me?

7
00:00:35,784 --> 00:00:40,235
In 2011, I woke up, and I couldn't enter
my email or Facebook.

8
00:00:40,236 --> 00:00:42,508
By the time I gained access into it,

9
00:00:42,509 --> 00:00:46,750
I realized that I have been a victim
of what is right now called revenge porn.

10
00:00:46,751 --> 00:00:49,763
But let's walk through
what happened to me.

11
00:00:49,764 --> 00:00:53,751
At some point, a person decides
that they will violate my consent.

12
00:00:53,752 --> 00:00:57,254
They break into my email,
they steal my private material,

13
00:00:57,255 --> 00:00:59,511
they publish it online,

14
00:00:59,512 --> 00:01:02,747
and then a site
starts profiting off of it,

15
00:01:02,748 --> 00:01:05,748
all against my consent,
most of it illegal.

16
00:01:05,749 --> 00:01:07,989
Now we call it revenge porn.

17
00:01:07,990 --> 00:01:09,230
Because we call it that,

18
00:01:09,231 --> 00:01:11,961
you might know what I'm talking about
is graphic material.

19
00:01:11,962 --> 00:01:13,223
For a long while,

20
00:01:13,224 --> 00:01:16,288
I also thought that this was bad
because it was graphic material.

21
00:01:16,289 --> 00:01:19,763
I thought I felt shame and I felt pain,
because it was graphic.

22
00:01:19,764 --> 00:01:22,020
But I realized, when I looked around me,

23
00:01:22,021 --> 00:01:25,231
that loads of people
were publishing graphic material,

24
00:01:25,232 --> 00:01:28,241
were participating in graphic acts,
and they were fine.

25
00:01:28,242 --> 00:01:31,503
It was not a problem for them,
but it was a problem for me.

26
00:01:31,504 --> 00:01:35,071
I realized that it was a problem
because I hadn't consented,

27
00:01:35,072 --> 00:01:37,019
because it was against my will,

28
00:01:37,020 --> 00:01:40,004
that it was not about
the content of the material,

29
00:01:40,005 --> 00:01:43,260
but about the relationship
that I had with the material.

30
00:01:43,261 --> 00:01:46,514
This revealed to me some issues
with how we talk about consent,

31
00:01:46,515 --> 00:01:50,262
and especially, how we talk
about privacy and online rights.

32
00:01:51,242 --> 00:01:54,523
Right now, when we talk
about privacy and online rights,

33
00:01:54,524 --> 00:01:57,237
we use the word private material.

34
00:01:57,238 --> 00:01:59,495
Private material refers to...

35
00:01:59,496 --> 00:02:02,762
yeah, no one actually really knows
what private material is.

36
00:02:02,763 --> 00:02:06,377
Is it our address, is it our name,
is it our phone number, what is it?

37
00:02:06,378 --> 00:02:07,697
We use it all the time.

38
00:02:07,698 --> 00:02:11,203
Governments, journalists
all talk about this private material,

39
00:02:11,204 --> 00:02:13,252
but none of us really knows what it is.

40
00:02:13,253 --> 00:02:14,796
And it's really important,

41
00:02:14,797 --> 00:02:17,907
because it seems that a lot of people
do worry about surveillance,

42
00:02:17,918 --> 00:02:21,252
you've all heard about the NSA,
you've all heard about Edward Snowden,

43
00:02:21,256 --> 00:02:23,501
and you've probably heard
of people like me.

44
00:02:23,502 --> 00:02:27,247
All these things are related,
it all about internet rights.

45
00:02:27,248 --> 00:02:31,775
When we talk about privacy, we put
the focus on the nature of the content,

46
00:02:31,776 --> 00:02:36,255
but the problem is, private content
is different to everyone.

47
00:02:36,256 --> 00:02:40,270
Everyone has a different relationship
with different types of content.

48
00:02:40,271 --> 00:02:44,261
I want to switch our conversation
from privacy to consent.

49
00:02:44,262 --> 00:02:48,247
Every individual's right to consent
needs to be in focus.

50
00:02:48,248 --> 00:02:52,295
We cannot,
from a normative standpoint, say

51
00:02:52,296 --> 00:02:55,022
which type of content
should be able to be published,

52
00:02:55,042 --> 00:02:59,037
or surveilled, or taken in,
and which shouldn't.

53
00:02:59,038 --> 00:03:03,234
There is no such rule
to make that apply to all.

54
00:03:03,235 --> 00:03:04,746
We can't have powerful people

55
00:03:04,747 --> 00:03:07,976
[drawing] a line between public
and private material, and saying,

56
00:03:07,977 --> 00:03:11,014
"OK, we decide that you can publish
a person's phone number."

57
00:03:11,015 --> 00:03:13,001
Or "We decide that you could publish

58
00:03:13,002 --> 00:03:15,261
a picture of a person
without asking them."

59
00:03:15,262 --> 00:03:18,768
Because we all have
different relationships to privacy.

60
00:03:18,769 --> 00:03:22,250
We need to put the focus
on the individual rights to consent.

61
00:03:22,251 --> 00:03:24,764
There are different reasons
why this matters.

62
00:03:24,765 --> 00:03:28,273
The primary one to me
is the democratic one,

63
00:03:28,274 --> 00:03:30,496
because who are the people
who are victimized,

64
00:03:30,497 --> 00:03:33,273
when we use a norm
to define something for everyone?

65
00:03:33,274 --> 00:03:35,535
It is the people
who are already on the margins,

66
00:03:35,536 --> 00:03:37,064
and who are already vulnerable.

67
00:03:37,065 --> 00:03:39,776
It is young women for example,
like it was for me,

68
00:03:39,777 --> 00:03:43,751
who live a life
with marginalized sexual options.

69
00:03:43,752 --> 00:03:45,521
Sex is used to shame young women,

70
00:03:45,522 --> 00:03:47,231
and if that happens in real life,

71
00:03:47,232 --> 00:03:49,756
it's going to be used
on the Internet as well.

72
00:03:49,757 --> 00:03:52,751
It is people who are victims
of homophobia, or transphobia,

73
00:03:52,768 --> 00:03:54,730
who are already vulnerable in society.

74
00:03:54,731 --> 00:03:57,611
These are the people
who need their privacy most.

75
00:03:58,401 --> 00:04:01,250
So when we talk about privacy
from a normative standpoint,

76
00:04:01,251 --> 00:04:05,752
what we do is we marginalize people
who are already vulnerable,

77
00:04:05,753 --> 00:04:08,742
and we deny rights to the people
who need them the most.

78
00:04:08,743 --> 00:04:10,464
This is a democratic issue,

79
00:04:10,464 --> 00:04:13,374
and if we do not focus
on the individual's right to consent,

80
00:04:13,374 --> 00:04:16,517
we are going to end up reproducing
the same systems of oppression

81
00:04:16,519 --> 00:04:18,522
that we have in the real world.

82
00:04:18,523 --> 00:04:22,764
Consent of the individual is
a central democratic point of the Internet

83
00:04:22,765 --> 00:04:26,546
and I'm going to tell you, none of us
have the right to consent today.

84
00:04:26,547 --> 00:04:29,037
None of us has the right to say,

85
00:04:29,038 --> 00:04:31,922
"I want to decide
what is collected off from me,

86
00:04:31,923 --> 00:04:34,024
and what I want to decide
what is published."

87
00:04:34,025 --> 00:04:37,251
That is what I found out,
and it is a democratic problem.

88
00:04:37,252 --> 00:04:39,753
Even though I am a known activist now,

89
00:04:39,754 --> 00:04:43,748
I will never have the right to have
those old pictures taken down of me,

90
00:04:43,749 --> 00:04:46,261
because we haven't decided
that it's a right yet.

91
00:04:46,262 --> 00:04:50,259
I don't have a right to consent
and neither does anyone on earth.

92
00:04:50,260 --> 00:04:53,770
This is a huge democratic problem.

93
00:04:53,771 --> 00:04:55,780
We need to create awareness.

94
00:04:55,781 --> 00:04:59,496
This loose word privacy
that none of us really knows what means

95
00:04:59,497 --> 00:05:03,083
has made it extremely difficult
for people to relate to these things.

96
00:05:03,084 --> 00:05:05,520
We hear this talk of privacy all the time,

97
00:05:05,521 --> 00:05:07,761
it's always like, "Oh, internet privacy,

98
00:05:07,762 --> 00:05:10,507
they are looking up
your private information,

99
00:05:10,508 --> 00:05:14,501
we find out that the American government
can find our metadata,"

100
00:05:14,511 --> 00:05:17,751
- what is metadata, no one really knows -

101
00:05:17,752 --> 00:05:19,505
This has created apathy:

102
00:05:19,506 --> 00:05:23,517
we all care about our online rights,
but we don't know enough about it.

103
00:05:23,518 --> 00:05:24,682
Why?

104
00:05:24,683 --> 00:05:29,202
I think the word is privacy,
it's gotten twisted out of hand:

105
00:05:29,203 --> 00:05:30,401
First of all,

106
00:05:30,402 --> 00:05:35,253
we made it sound like if a person demands
online rights and strict online privacy,

107
00:05:35,254 --> 00:05:37,022
we call them an outlier,

108
00:05:37,023 --> 00:05:38,995
we say, "What do you want to hide?

109
00:05:38,996 --> 00:05:43,009
What is that it's so weird that you think
people are going to find about you?

110
00:05:43,010 --> 00:05:45,971
Why do you want privacy 
so much more than anyone else?"

111
00:05:45,972 --> 00:05:47,507
This is a mistake.

112
00:05:47,508 --> 00:05:50,524
Wanting online privacy
and wanting the right to consent

113
00:05:50,525 --> 00:05:53,258
should be everyone's basic right.

114
00:05:53,259 --> 00:05:55,261
That's because we use the word privacy,

115
00:05:55,262 --> 00:05:57,375
we make it sound
as if it's keeping secret,

116
00:05:57,376 --> 00:06:00,014
as if someone who wants
privacy is an outlier,

117
00:06:00,015 --> 00:06:02,769
someone doing something
a little shoddily, a little weird.

118
00:06:02,770 --> 00:06:04,794
If we use the word consent,

119
00:06:04,795 --> 00:06:08,011
it's something
that everyone can relate to,

120
00:06:08,012 --> 00:06:10,752
everyone will relate
to the need for consent.

121
00:06:10,753 --> 00:06:17,529
I think we all have a pretty regular life,
but we all also want the right to consent.

122
00:06:17,530 --> 00:06:20,736
We say, like for example,
"I'm a political activist."

123
00:06:20,737 --> 00:06:25,766
That makes me vulnerable in one way,
I don't want my address to be public.

124
00:06:25,767 --> 00:06:28,995
For some people,
they wouldn't mind, but I do mind.

125
00:06:28,996 --> 00:06:31,001
I we shift the conversation to consent,

126
00:06:31,002 --> 00:06:33,502
we make it much more easier
for people to understand

127
00:06:33,503 --> 00:06:36,770
what's actually happening
with their information online.

128
00:06:36,771 --> 00:06:38,516
I think that's important.

129
00:06:38,517 --> 00:06:42,260
Also, like I talked about before,
there is the democratic issue.

130
00:06:42,261 --> 00:06:45,514
There is the issue
of not focusing on consent,

131
00:06:45,515 --> 00:06:48,521
making people on the margins
even more vulnerable.

132
00:06:48,522 --> 00:06:51,582
Meaning the people who [question]
the top of the status quo,

133
00:06:51,583 --> 00:06:53,735
people who question sources of power,

134
00:06:53,736 --> 00:06:56,011
people who do stuff
that makes them vulnerable,

135
00:06:56,012 --> 00:06:57,483
who challenge norms.

136
00:06:57,484 --> 00:06:58,747
We need these people,

137
00:06:58,748 --> 00:07:02,271
we, as a collective, should protect them
and protect their rights.

138
00:07:02,272 --> 00:07:04,232
If we form a powerful standpoint,

139
00:07:04,233 --> 00:07:08,254
make a normative judgment
about what privacy is

140
00:07:08,255 --> 00:07:11,520
we make these people extra vulnerable,
and we don't want that.

141
00:07:11,521 --> 00:07:14,266
We want an Internet
that is more progressive,

142
00:07:14,267 --> 00:07:18,753
that is more collectively embracing
of people who challenge the status quo,

143
00:07:18,754 --> 00:07:22,511
and who makes the world a better place
in and outside the Internet.

144
00:07:22,512 --> 00:07:24,731
That's why we need to focus on consent

145
00:07:24,732 --> 00:07:28,993
and not on a construction
of abstract privacy as we do now.

146
00:07:29,354 --> 00:07:32,247
Consent should be our focus,
because we want a better world,

147
00:07:32,248 --> 00:07:34,982
and we want the Internet
to be a driver of a better world.

148
00:07:34,982 --> 00:07:36,398
If we don't focus on consent,

149
00:07:36,398 --> 00:07:38,630
it will be at the cost
of political dissidents,

150
00:07:38,630 --> 00:07:41,246
it will be at the cost
of sexual and gender minorities,

151
00:07:41,246 --> 00:07:44,750
it will be at the behest
of racial and ethnic minorities,

152
00:07:44,751 --> 00:07:46,500
people who are already vulnerable.

153
00:07:46,501 --> 00:07:49,231
Every individual
should have the right to consent,

154
00:07:49,232 --> 00:07:51,233
and we don't right now.

155
00:07:51,234 --> 00:07:54,259
This is extremely important.

156
00:07:54,260 --> 00:07:58,248
It's not about privacy,
it's not about keeping secret,

157
00:07:58,249 --> 00:07:59,978
it's about getting to decide

158
00:07:59,979 --> 00:08:01,998
what is front stage
and what is back stage.

159
00:08:01,999 --> 00:08:04,756
It's the central part
of what it means to be human.

160
00:08:04,757 --> 00:08:08,746
There is no difference between real life
and the Internet anymore,

161
00:08:08,747 --> 00:08:10,252
these things are the same,

162
00:08:10,253 --> 00:08:12,791
and of course, we should have
the same rights online.

163
00:08:12,792 --> 00:08:15,791
Even if it's difficult,
it's a fight that it's worth fighting,

164
00:08:15,792 --> 00:08:18,409
because then we make an Internet
that is even better

165
00:08:18,410 --> 00:08:20,959
than the real life that we have right now.

166
00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:22,230
Thank you very much.

167
00:08:22,231 --> 00:08:23,915
(Applause)