While civil libertarians and conventional national security advocates have typically found little to agree on, today they share a profound anxiety about the trajectory of state intelligence gathering. For some, this reflects concern about invasions of privacy made possible by a digital environment in which every click and inquiry can be tracked and where our homes and workplaces have welcomed internet-aware appliances that could be repurposed for surveillance.
For others, there is a sense of undue empowerment of those who wish to cause harm and disruption, thanks to technologies that permit untraceable communications and cultivation and rallying of like-minded extremists.
Through a concrete hypothetical--ripped from tomorrow's headlines, if not today's--we explore the difficult decisions to be made around these issues, including actors from business, government, civil society, and the citizenry at large.
This event is part of Harvard Law's School's bicentennial activities.