Digital rights advocates and privacy enthusiasts in New York City are preparing for a series of high-profile discussions this April as Cindy Cohn, the Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), brings her latest operate to the city. The series of events centers on her new book, Privacy’s Defender: My Thirty-Year Fight Against Digital Surveillance, a project that blends personal memoir with a legal history of the internet’s most pivotal privacy battles.
Cohn, who served as the EFF’s General Counsel and Legal Director from 2000 to 2015 according to MIT Press, has spent three decades navigating the intersection of law and technology. Her career has seen her challenge federal officials to secure online conversations, fight against FBI gag orders, and advocate for the right to share scientific knowledge online. The upcoming New York “triple header” offers a rare opportunity for the public to engage with one of the primary legal voices who shaped the digital rights landscape.
The book itself, published by MIT Press, serves as a retrospective on the “Crypto Wars” of the 1990s and the dragnet surveillance programs revealed in the 2000s. According to the EFF, all proceeds from the sale of hard copies of the book are being donated back to the organization to support its ongoing fight for digital liberties.
The significance of the work has already drawn praise from high-profile figures in the surveillance debate. Edward Snowden, the whistleblower and author of Permanent Record, described Privacy’s Defender as a compelling account and an inspiring call to action for the next generation of civil liberties champions.
New York Event Schedule and Discussion Themes
The New York series consists of three distinct events, each pairing Cohn with a different leader in the tech and security sectors to explore various facets of digital privacy and government overreach.
The first event takes place on Monday, April 20, 2026, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Cohn will be joined by Chelsea Horne, a Senior Professorial Lecturer at American University, for a conversation hosted by Women in Security and Privacy (WISP). This session will focus on the technical and legal aspects of data security, federal access to personal data, and the fundamental digital rights of users. The event will be held at Kennedys, located at 22 Vanderbilt Avenue, Suite 2400, New York, NY 10017.
On Tuesday, April 21, 2026, the conversation shifts to the intersection of civic life and digital anonymity. From 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at Civic Hall (124 E 14th St, New York, NY 10003), Cohn will speak with Julie Samuels, the President and CEO of Tech:NYC. This discussion is expected to tackle a central question of the modern era: whether it is possible to maintain private conversations while living a life that is almost entirely online.
The final event of the series occurs on Thursday, April 23, 2026, at the Brooklyn Public Library. From 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm, Cohn will be in conversation with Anil Dash, the Principal and Cofounder of antitech. The discussion will take place in the Info Commons Lab of the Central Library, located at 10 Grand Army Plz 1st floor, Brooklyn, NY 11238, focusing on the themes of surveillance and the legal battles detailed in her book.
The Legacy of Digital Surveillance Battles
To understand the context of these events, one must gaze at the legal milestones Cohn addresses in her writing. The “Crypto Wars” of the 1990s, for instance, were a fundamental clash between the U.S. Government’s desire to maintain access to encrypted communications and the tech community’s push for strong encryption to protect individual privacy. These battles laid the groundwork for how data is secured today.
Beyond encryption, Cohn’s work has focused on the transparency of government surveillance. This includes fighting to ensure that individuals are notified when their information has been turned over to the government and challenging the use of gag orders that prevent companies from telling users about federal data requests.
The impact of these legal fights extends beyond the courtroom; they define the boundaries of democracy and human rights in the digital age. As a legal voice for whistleblowers, innovators, and researchers, Cohn’s trajectory reflects the evolving struggle to balance national security interests with the constitutional right to privacy.
Key Event Details at a Glance
| Date | Partner | Location | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 20, 2026 | Chelsea Horne (WISP) | Kennedys, Manhattan | Data security & federal access |
| April 21, 2026 | Julie Samuels (Tech:NYC) | Civic Hall, Manhattan | Online privacy in daily life |
| April 23, 2026 | Anil Dash (antitech) | Brooklyn Public Library | Digital surveillance history |
For those unable to attend the New York events, the EFF maintains a hub for Privacy’s Defender where updated tour dates and locations are listed. The book is available through several major retailers, including MIT Press, Penguin Random House, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Indigo, and Indiebound.
The next confirmed checkpoint for those following this journey is the start of the New York event series on April 20, 2026. We invite our readers to share their thoughts on the current state of digital privacy in the comments below.