Sessions at SXSW Interactive 2012 about Censorship

View as grid

Friday 9th March 2012

• Iranian Outlaws: Satire vs. Censorship

  by Saman Arbabi and Raina Kumra

  Saman Arbabi will use his signature wit to relate how the satirical TV program challenges the oppressive Iranian regime all the while influencing the direction of the country’s political landscape. The program, “Parazit,” has become a runaway hit in Iran despite the gov’s strict censorship practices. The program uses alternate channels of distribution to reach their audience which has driven the program further underground and contributed to its outlaw status and popularity. The show has so completely seeped into the Iranian psyche that the president and his supporters have launched a counter-Parazit program. Saman will give insight into their innovative methods of growing an audience that was previously all but unreachable. At SXSW, he will unveil his latest: "Weapons of Mouse Destruction," the largest global art project against government Internet censorship. Raina Kumra BBG Director of Innovation will open the session with an overview of closed media environments around the world.

  • Censorship
  • Politics
  • Satire
  • Sociology

  At 5:00pm to 6:00pm, Friday 9th March

  In Room 12AB, Austin Convention Center

Sunday 11th March 2012

• Right to Be Forgotten: Forgiveness or Censorship?

  by Jill Van Matre and Meg Ambrose

  The digital age has eternalized information that was once fleeting, and the Right to be Forgotten has gained traction in the EU. A controversial aspect of these rights is that truthful, newsworthy information residing online may be removed after a certain amount of time in an attempt to make the information private again.

  Two compelling camps have arisen: Preservationists and Deletionists. Preservationists believe the web offers the most comprehensive history of humanity ever collected and feel a duty to protect digital legacies without censorship. Deletionists argue that the web must learn to forget in order to preserve vital societal values and that threats to the dignity and privacy of individuals will create an oppressive networked space.

  The US, the land of opportunity, has not embraced the Right to be Forgotten, but should it? The First Amendment raises significant issues, but how does the value of protected information changes over time. Could privacy ever outweigh expression?

  • Censorship
  • humanity
  • Information
  • Privacy

  At 12:30pm to 1:30pm, Sunday 11th March

  In Room 8A, Austin Convention Center