March 9
10:00 am–3:00 pm
Doors open. All are welcome.
Interactive exhibits, family-friendly activities, and more.
11:00 am–12:00 pm
How to Stop Big Tech from Becoming Big Brother
A conversation with Congressman Jimmy Gomez
11:00 am–2:00 pm
Lunch with ACLU
Locally-sourced vegetarian and meat salad bowls.
First come, first served until quantities run out.
12:30 pm–1:30 pm
Making Change On and Off the Screen
Hilton Austin Downtown
Speakers include Ike Barinholtz, Anthony Romero, Padma Lakshmi, & Amber Heard.
2:00 pm–3:00 pm
Beyond the Surveillance Business Model
Featured speakers from ACLU, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Bloomberg Technology, & DuckDuckGo.
8:00 pm–12:00 am
ACLU 100 Fest
Hosted by Padma Lakshmi and featuring DJ Questlove, Musician Tom Morello, and Musician K. Flay. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
March 10
10:00 am–7:00 pm
Doors open. All are welcome.
Interactive exhibits, family-friendly activities, and more.
10:00 am–1:00 pm
Brunch with ACLU
A plant-based unique menu curated by Curcuma.
First come, first served until quantities are depleted.
10:45 am–11:45 am
Criminal Justice Reform
A one-man stage narrative about a wrongful conviction.
12:00 pm–1:00 pm
At Liberty Live from SXSW!
Featured speakers include Tom Morello and Emerson Sykes.
1:00 pm–2:00 pm
Women, Violence, Harassment Online and Off, and Equality
Featured speakers include Amber Heard, Padma Lakshmi of Top Chef, & Sarah Jeong of the NY Times.
3:00 pm–4:00 pm
People Not Prisons: Why Brands Are Joining The Movement For Criminal Justice Reform
Featured panelists from ACLU, Ben & Jerry’s, Puma, & The Moth.
4:00 pm–7:00 pm
ACLU 100 Happy Hours
Drinks provided by Hops & Grain. Valid ID required to consume alcohol.
Highlights
Featured Session: Making Change On and Off the Screen
March 9, 12:30pm Hilton Austin Downtown, Salon H
As pop culture’s success in shifting public sentiment rapidly grows and becomes more powerful, how do celebrities craft their strategies and tactics in pushing for social change?
Speakers: Ike Barinholtz, Anthony Romero, Padma Lakshmi, and Amber Heard
Session: A Conversation with Congressman Jimmy Gomez About What we Need to do to Stop Big Tech from Becoming Big Brother
March 9, 11:00am
From Geofeedia to Amazon’s Rekognition, we’re seeing new technologies emerging with the power to become tools for Orwellian surveillance. Tech companies aren’t just collecting our locations and face prints, they’re potentially putting them in the hands of the government. The marriage of Big Tech and government threatens to supercharge the government’s ability to track and monitor all of us, and represents an unprecedented threat to our civil liberties and rights. Join us for a conversation with Congressman Jimmy Gomez and ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel Neema Singh Guliani about steps Congress to address these issues and underscore the need for the tech industry to take responsibility for its actions.
Speakers: Congressman Jimmy Gomez
Session: Beyond the Surveillance Business Model
March 9, 2:00pm 4th & Red River
Trump, Cambridge Analytica, and the growing scope of cybersecurity crises have been a wake-up call to the public, tech employees, and investors about the high price of the collect-it-all business model and the grave impact it can have on society.
It’s time to talk about the future – how technology developers and companies can successfully move beyond the surveillance business model.
Speakers: Nicole Ozer, ACLU of NorCal; Cindy Cohn, Electronic Frontier Foundation; Brad Stone, Bloomberg Technology; Gabriel Weinberg, DuckDuckGo
Session: Graves Injustice
March 10, 10:45am 4th & Red River
After spending 18 years behind bars, 16 in solitary confinement and 12 on death row, Anthony Graves was set free after prosecutors found him innocent and uncovered that the prosecuting attorney engaged in numerous acts of prosecutorial misconduct.
Hear how Graves turned the tragedy of his wrongful conviction into a fight for a smarter criminal justice system.
Speaker: Anthony Graves, Smart Justice Consultant, ACLU of Texas
Session: At Liberty Live from SXSW! Feat. Tom Morello
March 10, 12:00pm 4th & Red River
The ACLU’s weekly podcast At Liberty is coming to you live from SXSW. Host Emerson Sykes is joined by Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Prophets of Rage, Audioslave, The Nightwatchman) to discuss collaboration and activism in the Trump era, and Morello’s new project The Atlas Underground.
Speakers: Emerson Sykes is the host of At Liberty and a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project
Session: Women, Violence, Harassment Online and Off, and Equality
March 10, 1:00pm 4th & Red River
#MeToo. #WhyIDidntReport. In recent years, women have spoken about the violence and harassment they have endured at work, home, on the internet, at school, and among society. This panel discusses which institutions – with a particular focus on online communities – perpetuate gender-based violence and inequality.
Speakers: Sarah Jeong, Editorial Board, NY Times; former senior writer, The Verge Amber Heard, Actress/Activist Padma Lakshmi, Author/Top Chef Host/Activist
Moderator: Louise Melling, ACLU Deputy Legal Director and Director of the Center for Liberty
Session: People Not Prisons: Why Brands Are Joining the Movement for Criminal Justice Reform
March 10, 3:00pm 4th & Red River
The U.S. incarcerates more people, in both absolute numbers and per capita, than any other nation in the world. While we’re seeing bipartisan support for policy reforms, challenges remain: how do transition from “tough on crime” narrative to one that focuses more on people, not prisons?
Join us to learn how these inspiring leaders are helping to bring a marginalized social justice issue to the mainstream.
The first 100 attendees will receive gifts from Ben & Jerry’s and Puma
Speakers: Adina Ellis, ACLU National; Anthony Graves, Smart Justice Consultant, ACLU of Texas; Jabari Paul, Ben & Jerry’s; Adam Petrick, Puma; Casey Donahue, Manager of Community Program, The Moth Community Program Representative
