Contact: Josh Tabish, Lead Coordinator, Media Democracy Day 2012 mddcoordinator@gmail.com 778.782.

7353 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Democracy Days 2012 Announces Privacy & Surveillance Panel Vancouver, B.C. October 9, 2012. Media Democracy Days (MDD) 2012 announces an upcoming panel discussion titled Whos Watching You? taking place November 3 from 3:004:30PM at The Vancouver Public Library. Privacy experts will talk on threats to civil liberties in the context of electronic surveillance. Amidst recent reports of federal concerns over foreign control of Canadas online networks, the panel promises to address threats to both personal privacy rights as well as national security. In the past week, several news items have reported that Canadas Communications Security Establishment (CSE) has serious security concerns over the worlds leading telecom equipment manufacturer, the China-based Huawei Technologies. The company has recently made major inroads with Canadian firms such as Telus, Bell, SaskTel and Wind Mobile. CSE warns that Canadas networks may be at risk of having messages intercepted by the Chinese government. Privacy advocate Lindsey Pinto of OpenMedia.ca argues that a factor further complicating matters is the governments contentious online spying bill C-30. If passed into law, the bill would lead to immense and unsecure registries of Canadian Internet users and their personal data. With the advent of increased foreign control over Canadas networks it seems reckless to consider a bill that would weaken Canadians control over private data data that could easily be accessed by companies like Huawei Technologies. Pinto will be appearing on MDD 2012s Whos Watching You? panel alongside BC Civil Liberties Association Policy Director, Micheal Vonn, and privacy advocate Runa A. Sandvik from the U.S.-based Tor Project, which has developed onion routing network software that allows citizens to circumvent online censorship and surveillance. Whos Watching You will take place Saturday, November 3 at the Vancouver Public Library, Central Library (350 W. Georgia St.) from 3:00-4:30PM in the Alma VanDusen Room. All events are open and free to the public. MDD 2012 is a partnership of SFUs School of Communication, OpenMedia.ca, and The Vancouver Public Library, and is sponsored in part by Vancity. About Media Democracy Days Launched in 2001, MDD western Canadas signature event for the growing global media democratization movement. This movement seeks to create a more participatory media system

by supporting independent and public service media production, celebrating innovation and creating dialogue around the politics and biases linked to our increasingly corporate and concentrated media. This year, MDD events will be taking place over two-days at SFU Woodwards Goldcorp Centre for the Arts and the Vancouver Public Library Central Library. To learn more, visit http://www.mediademocracyday.org. About the School of Communication at SFU For nearly 40 years, the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University has fostered the development of critical, interdisciplinary approaches to the study of media and technology with a commitment to social theory and political economy. Led by an award-winning team of educators, the School of Communication is at the leading edge of media policy research, technological innovation and cultural transformation on a global scale. For more information, visit http://cmns.sfu.ca. About OpenMedia.ca OpenMedia.ca is a grassroots organization that safeguards the possibilities of the open and affordable Internet. The group works towards informed and participatory digital policy. For more information, visit http://openmedia.ca. About Vancouver Public Library Founded in 1887, Vancouver Public Library is one of Canada's largest library systems dedicated to meeting the lifelong learning, reading, recreation and information needs of the people of Vancouver. Each year, the Librarys 22 branches serve over six million visitors and offer over 2.5 million items, including books, CDs, DVDs, magazines and countless online resources. For more information, visit http://www.vpl.vancouver.bc.ca/. -30Media Contacts: Kathleen Cross, PhD. Chair, The Media Democracy Project 778-782-3861 kcross@sfu.ca Stuart Poyntz, PhD. Steering Committee, The Media Democracy Project 778-782-7293 spoyntz@sfu.ca Josh Tabish Lead Coordinator, Media Democracy Days 2012 778.782.7353