Discussion
The Digital Surveillance State – Quo vadis, Democracy?
On the current waves of surveillance, censorship, the erosion of civil rights and the need for political control of intelligence services
The event will be simultaneously translated from English to German and vice versa.
How have these times of mass surveillance, data espionage and cooperation between the BND and NSA altered our established understanding of democracy? How was the NSA scandal perceived in the United States and in Germany and what can – and must – we learn from it?
These questions will be discussed by the prominent U.S. whistleblowers Thomas Drake, Daniel Ellsberg, Jesselyn Radack, and Coleen Rowley with the Members of the German Bundestag Konstantin von Notz and Martina Renner (both members of the NSA committee of inquiry), Joseph Foschepoth, German historian and Peter Schaar, former Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information.
The round of talks will be opened by the economist, peace activist and former military analyst Daniel Ellsberg (The Pentagon Papers) and the former FBI agent Coleen Rowley, along with introductory remarks by the American journalist and Editorial board member of ExposeFacts.org, Norman Solomon.
The discussion will be moderated by Sarah Harrison, journalist and director of the Courage Foundation. A Q & A session is scheduled for after the panel discussion.
During the exchange, the public is invited to take part in the discussion by sending in their questions or comments on Twitter using the hashtag #qvdemocracy.
In cooperation with the Courage Foundation, ExposeFacts.org, DIE ZEIT, ZEIT Online, transmediale, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt.