In the past year, a number of investigations have revealed the outsized role of a few select companies in gathering, storing, and selling the location data of millions of devices - and by extension people - worldwide. These companies largely use technologies which power the online advertising industry in order to collect and disseminate this data. To make matters worse, this data has been both provided to private investigators on the mere assurance that they plan to work with law enforcement, and has been subject to data breaches which put the privacy of millions at risk. This talk will elaborate on the technologies, data flows, and industry players which comprise this complicated ecosystem. Most importantly, it will cover some basic steps you can perform to protect yourself against the wide array of location privacy harms your device subjects you to. The presenters will show tools and techniques they’ve developed to allow users to take back ownership of our devices, rather than our devices owning us.

This year, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) will be returning to HOPE for a special “Ask the EFF” panel to address some of the pressing questions the hacker community has in these troubled times. Panelists will provide updates on current EFF work, including the ongoing case against the “Department” of Government Oversight, educating the public on their digital rights, organizing communities to resist ongoing government surveillance, and more. The panel will then turn it over to attendees to pose questions and receive insights on how users can protect their civil liberties online during an increasingly volatile political and world situation.