Social Networks or Social Nightmares? Event

A panel discussion with Roger McNamee, Evgeny Morozov, Max Schrems and Shalini Randeria.

A decade ago social networks, big data and artificial intelligence were welcomed for their promise of progress and their democratisation of access. Today, the focus has shifted to their dark side as a threat to our privacy, a danger to democracy and a new form of surveillance. This discussion, therefore, gathers three of the world’s leading activists of the electronic age to discuss our digital future and to weigh up the pros and cons of social media.

Our first speaker, Roger McNamee, was an early advisor to Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg, but has become one of his fiercest critics and his much-­acclaimed book, Zucked, is a far-reaching indictment of the way the social media giant deals with data security.

Our second speaker, Evgeny Morozov, gained prominence with his book, The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom, a prophetically early warning about the dangers of the digital age.

And, our third speaker, the Austrian data protection lawyer, Max Schrems, became a global celebrity when he took Facebook to court for privacy violations.

The conversation will be led by IWM Rector Shalini Randeria.

Attendance is free, but registration is required.