Featured blog
November 15, 2023
Your new host, Brent Gervais, had the opportunity to sit down with Max Schrems – privacy lawyer and pioneer in the European data privacy movement – to explore some thoughts and ideas that stemmed from Max’s keynote given at the Nextcloud Conference 2023.
We explore the newly adopted Transatlantic Data Privacy Framework, it’s implications and why we all need to care and pay attention. We also touch on the 15-year debate on EU-US data transfers, surveillance law, anti-competitive behaviours in Big Tech, and the need for regulation despite the challenges presented by the process.
“If we move into this information age, and information is the new gold or the new currency, how do we distribute the rights to that information in a fair and balanced way? Different cultures and different democracies will have different answers to that.. there can be parts that are open source that allows you to move your data out into another system, which is one of your rights as an individual – your right to privacy.”
– Max Schrems
Max became known for campaigns against Facebook for its privacy violations, including violations of European privacy laws and the alleged transfer of personal data to the US National Security Agency (NSA). He is most well known for his lawsuits on the Safe Harbor agreement (Schrems I) and the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield (Schrems II).
Today he is the Founder & Honorary Chair of NOYB – European Center for Digital Rights.
In this episode, we explore how open source solutions are revolutionizing the way governments work, from collaboration and knowledge sharing to digital sovereignty and artificial intelligence. Sven shares the factors that influenced their decision to adopt open source solutions, their implementation strategies along the way, and lessons learned from the adoption of open source in Munich.
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Edward Snowden's disclosures in 2013 were not only revelatory but also catalyzed a necessary discussion around mass surveillance and yet Constanze argues we've since lost momentum in this critical conversation. She expresses concern that, as the public has become increasingly complacent, the intelligence services have grown even more powerful and influential. We reflect on the changing landscape of hacktivism and investigative reporting, and how policy is struggling to keep pace with modern technological advancements. Constanze also reminds us that there's still much work to be done in addressing the pressing issues facing us today – from mass surveillance and data protection to predictive policing and platform capitalism.
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With the recent accelerating pace of innovation, public sector institutions throughout Europe have come to prioritize digital sovereignty as a primary driver in designing resilient IT systems. Manuel Liesenfeld, Head of Head of Public Sector Division at Bechtle AG, discusses the current innovations in the European public sector and the obligation of public buyers to deliver resilient and sovereign digital solutions that put citizens first. We explore how Bechtle - Germany’s largest IT system house - and Nextcloud's recent partnership in offering digitally sovereign collaboration services for the European public sector is an important step in building resilient IT systems that prioritize security and data protection.
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