Parts of the hacker community have always been concerned with techno dystopias and authoritarianism. Recent events have prompted many people to wonder if the United States is in the process of falling into such a state. To answer this question, we must have a clear understanding of what authoritarianism is. This talk will attempt to provide some answers, reviewing why hackers have always worried about this and what we can learn from other countries that have experienced these kinds of transformations. We’ll talk about what has happened recently in the U.S. and consider what academic political science suggests about the range of possible future scenarios.

Our speaker, Decius, is a hacker, orator, one of the four original founders of Electronic Frontiers Georgia, and has decades of experience in technology and information security.

This event is organized not by EFF, but by  Electronic Frontiers Georgia (EFGA), a grassroots group participating in the Electronic Frontier Alliance. The EFA is a network of grassroots organizations across the country committed to promoting digital rights. Together, we're building a movement to promote freedom of expression, privacy, security, creativity, and access to knowledge.