[Air-L] Digital civil liberties convening, Spain, May 2024

[Andrew Lowenthal]

Call for participants: Convening of Digital Civil Liberties Activists, Technologists, and Researchers
May 6-10, 2024, Catalonia, Spain

> Do you think “counter misinformation” efforts have led to censorship of legitimate speech?

> Do you think the values of free speech, open inquiry, independence, and civil liberties have been subsumed in pursuit of information controls and social conformity?

If so, you are not alone! We want to meet you.

You may have worked or are still working for a digital rights or a human rights organisation, or work at the intersection of human rights and technology for an academic institution or media initiative.

If you have maintained your original commitment to free speech and open inquiry, but feel the world around you has turned upside down, read on!

Interested participants are invited to submit their application by March 17 via this form - https://liber-net.org/url/2024retreat

Costs of accommodation and meals are covered for all participants, as are flights for those that need them.

What is the issue?
We believe that the mainstream digital rights and academic fields have turned against their free expression roots. It has been captured by Western governments and Big Philanthropic organisations, and by an ideology of safetyism, censorship, and paternalism. While ten years ago the field celebrated the democratisation of information, it now fears it.

Many academics, NGOs, and foundations now pursue authoritarian solutions to what they label an “infodemic” but is often merely the expression of popular or dissenting ideas. These top-down solutions are masked in a range of seeming virtues – from combating “disinformation” and “bias” to stopping “hate speech”, and protecting “public health.”

There is of course disinformation and hate speech, but powerful actors have weaponised these sentiments for their own ends. Over the last several years an alliance of tech corporations, large philanthropic organisations, governments, and NGOs have formed to discourage debate, dialogue, and dissent.

Why should you care?
Failure to address this capture is already having grave consequences for our fundamental rights and liberties. The [Twitter Files](https://twitterfiles.substack.com/) revealed that [governments colluded with big tech, academics, NGOs and philanthropic organisations](https://www.racket.news/p/report-on-the-censorship-industrial-74b) to enforce speech controls. Meanwhile, UK investigations showed that the military was involved in suppressing [legitimate criticism of government Covid policies](https://bigbrotherwatch.org.uk/campaigns/ministry-of-truth/).

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Who are you?
You may have worked or are still working for a digital rights, civil liberties, or human rights organisation, or work at the intersection of human rights and technology for an academic institution or media initiative.

Please note that space is strictly limited to 30 people. So, please apply ASAP. The deadline closes on March 17. Costs of accommodation and meals are covered for all participants, as are flights for those that need them.

https://liber-net.org/url/2024retreat

Your participation will remain private and confidential. We will not publicize your attendance, unless you choose to. Please note that the convening will be held under the Chatham House Rules.

Who are we?
[liber-net](https://liber-net.org) is a digital civil liberties initiative working to re-establish free speech and civil liberties as the default standard for our networked age. We have spent more than two decades in the digital rights, open technology, and internet freedom fields.

Our approach is independent and values-driven, eschewing political tribalism.

--
https://networkaffects.substack.com

https://twitter.com/naffects

https://liber-net.org