PrivaciQ 2024

The second edition of PrivaciQ took place this past March 23rd, an event organized by the Center for Digital Autonomy (CAD) aimed at bringing the discussion on human rights in the digital landscape to society at large and, on the other hand, contributing to strengthening citizens’ digital autonomy through the use of open-source tools and Free Software for privacy and security protection.

The 2024 edition of PrivaciQ had as its main theme “Ecuador and the challenges of digital privacy” due to the context of internal turmoil that Ecuador is currently experiencing. The declaration of internal armed conflict in the country entails a temporary suspension of certain rights, including, naturally, privacy—both physical and digital. For this reason, we in CAD deemed it essential to create spaces for dialogue and knowledge dissemination to safeguard our community.

Thus, for this year’s event, we decided to issue an open call for those who wanted to present talks or workshops around 4 thematic axes: Artificial Intelligence and Privacy, Security vs. Privacy, Digital Self-Defense, and Personal Data Protection. From this call, the following talks were selected:

• Ecuador and the Challenges of Digital Privacy – Ola Bini, Sara Zambrano
• Behind the Algorithm: Privacy and Artifitial Intelligence – Diana Mosquera (Diversa Studio)
• Impact and Consequences of Ecuadorian Data Leakage via Open Source Information – Jorge Sánchez Freire (CrySeg)
• The Dilemma of Mass Surveillance: Is Sacrificing Privacy for Security Necessary? – Nadhine Custode, Mateo Candelejo
• Open Windows: Mobile Applications and Personal Data – María Encalada (OpenLab)
• Digital Security: Myths and Realities in the World of Software Piracy – Alex Almeida
• The Undercover Cyber Agent in Ecuador: The Crossroads of State Surveillance and the Right to Encryption in Ecuador – Alex Sotomayor
• The Challenges of Addressing Digital Violence in Communities – Jessica Morales (KISTH Foundation)

Moreover, the technical team of the Center of Digital Autonomy was in charge of the following workshops:

• Private and Secure Browsing with Tor – Marcelo Chiriboga
• Private and Secure Browsing without Tor – Laura Zambrano
• Security and Privacy for Mobile Devices – Steffano Utreras, Ola Bini

In addition, this year PrivaciQ welcomed the participation of artists and independent publishers (Las manos del Diablo, Atelier, and Comuna Editorial Autónoma), who showcased and sold their products at the fair as part of the event.

We are thrilled to see that in this edition of the event, attendees came from diverse sectors of civil society, academia, and even from various age groups, who expressed their increasing interest and need to protect themselves in digital environments for a safer community. Moreover, this event helped us connect with various organizations, with whom we intend to collaborate in the future to enhance technical efforts and promote awareness about defending human rights in the digital sphere.

Finally, we want to thank everyone who made this event possible: those who submitted their proposals and participated as speakers, for sharing their experiences and knowledge with everyone; the attendees, for accompanying us and being an active part of the activities we prepared for this day; the vendors, for sharing the skill and creativity behind their work; and finally, Muxeum, for trusting in our proposal and allowing us to use the space they have built with so much effort.

Next year, we will return with a new edition of PrivaciQ. Stay tuned!