Edward Snowden to Speak at Hudson Valley Campus

The ex-CIA employee charged with leaking classified documents will be a guest speaker during a privacy conference at a local Hudson Valley college.

Edward Snowden has been living in exile in in Russia since fleeing the country after leaking information about government surveillance. But on October 16 he will be making an appearance at Bard College. Of course, it will be done via satellite.

According to the Daily Freeman, Snowden's appearance is part of a two-day conference titled "Why Privacy Matters." Attendees at the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities will sit in on discussions surrounding the surveillance policies of government and business. According to Bard's website, topics include:

• Does our loss of control over our data impact our inner lives?
• Is freedom possible in world without privacy?
• When indiscretions are knowable, who will have the courage to enter public life?
• Can we hold government and business accountable for their use of private data?
• Why is government becoming more secret as individuals embrace transparency?
• Do we have a meaningful right to be left alone?

Other speakers scheduled to appear include science fiction writer, David Brin and Law professor Anita Allen among other experts in the arena of personal privacy.

You can register online to attend the conference, which is free to Bard employees and students and costs $30 to the general public.