[Canceled] Tech and Human Rights

This event has been canceled but may be rescheduled. 

Over the past three years, some queer dating apps have worked with experts to tackle the human rights and security issues LGBTQ groups in the MENA region have faced. This event will bring together company representatives with Afsaneh Rigot, Berkman Klein fellow and author of the Article 19 research that inspired the changes, to look at the effects of technology in contexts it was not designed for, especially how western-centrism impacts vulnerable and/or hard-to-reach communities.

The panel will include Jack Harrison-Quintana from Grindr (the world's largest social networking app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people) and Shana Sumers from HER (the world’s largest dating app for lesbian, bisexual, and queer women). It will demonstrate the power of constructive engagement with power-holding corporations, highlighting the need for effective corporate responsibility, harm reduction, and user- and community-centered research. Most importantly, the company reps will explain how and why their apps made changes and what benefits they saw.

This work is a powerful refutation of the often-repeated idea that, due to business incentives, companies cannot be held to account meaningfully, demonstrating that when impacted communities are effectively consulted, progress is possible.  

Co-sponsored by the Cyberlaw Clinic and the Human Rights Program