Many of you know that I'm very vocal about my concerns about the Press at defcon. My concern is that one day the press (I'm looking at you *NBC) will sucker some poor attendee into admitting a crime (real or made up) which will bring negative attention on all of us. I personally have ZERO benefit to being on the news, so why risk ruining my (or your) career?
The Defcon 20 press page is up: https://www.defcon.org/html/defcon-20/dc-20-press.html
DEF CON tries to say that "the same rules apply to humans and press" but I think that's a bad policy. The press isn't there to share photos with their friends or to brag that they're at a "hacker con", they're there to get dirt. They get paid to find controversial stories. They get paid to find dirt on people, because that increases their profits. They don't give a shit about our community, they're a business and they want to sell ads. They'll ruin your life for a dollar.
What we need is for *YOU*, the attendees, to take the initiative. We need YOU to out these reporters. We need YOU to be aware of the rules and to bust them when they break them. DEF CON has written down the press rules, but it's up to all of us to make sure they're followed. Find a security goon and we'll help you, the attendee, stand up for your rights.
From the DEF CON Press Page:
- "Photography/video without explicit permission is forbidden." - you can bust anyone taking photos without your permission.
- ""Crowd Shots" are disallowed" - don't let them take photos of you in line, in a talk, etc.
- "If you are asked by an attendee to delete a picture they did not give you permission to take, do so immediately." - if they refuse, find a security goon.
- "don't even *think* of having a hidden camera" - if you find someone doing this PLEASE find a security goon, we'll set up a sting.
** These, of course, are just my personal opinions and I'll probably get in trouble for them. **
Kallahar
The Defcon 20 press page is up: https://www.defcon.org/html/defcon-20/dc-20-press.html
DEF CON tries to say that "the same rules apply to humans and press" but I think that's a bad policy. The press isn't there to share photos with their friends or to brag that they're at a "hacker con", they're there to get dirt. They get paid to find controversial stories. They get paid to find dirt on people, because that increases their profits. They don't give a shit about our community, they're a business and they want to sell ads. They'll ruin your life for a dollar.
What we need is for *YOU*, the attendees, to take the initiative. We need YOU to out these reporters. We need YOU to be aware of the rules and to bust them when they break them. DEF CON has written down the press rules, but it's up to all of us to make sure they're followed. Find a security goon and we'll help you, the attendee, stand up for your rights.
From the DEF CON Press Page:
- "Photography/video without explicit permission is forbidden." - you can bust anyone taking photos without your permission.
- ""Crowd Shots" are disallowed" - don't let them take photos of you in line, in a talk, etc.
- "If you are asked by an attendee to delete a picture they did not give you permission to take, do so immediately." - if they refuse, find a security goon.
- "don't even *think* of having a hidden camera" - if you find someone doing this PLEASE find a security goon, we'll set up a sting.
** These, of course, are just my personal opinions and I'll probably get in trouble for them. **
Kallahar
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