Freedom of thought in the online world

Every marketing practitioner is acutely aware of the transformational impact that digital channels and social media have had on the discipline.

As we emerge from the Covid pandemic, we understand what it means to lose our physical liberty and to live our lives online; we need to focus on what freedom, including mental freedom, should mean for our future in the digital age. The scale of our dependence and the reach of technology into our minds has expanded unchecked to date. Big tech has dodged regulation with the threat that regulation would stifle innovation and supporters would say there’s no need to worry because our thoughts are private. The Cambridge Analytica scandal is just one piece of evidence that we should continue to care about and protect our personal data.

Should marketers be more aware of the risks posed by big tech to their customers, clients and brands?

International human rights lawyer Susie Alegre explores how the powerful have always sought to get inside our heads, influence how we think and shape what we buy.

Susie’s presentation covers:
• What is the right to freedom of thought?
• What does it mean for online advertising and marketing?
• Where is the line between influence and manipulation?

Speaker: Susie Alegre
Susie is a specialist in international human rights law and public international law with over twenty years experience working on human rights and the rule of law in the EU, OSCE, Council of Europe and UN Systems. In the UK she has worked as an ombudsman at the Financial Ombudsman Service deciding cases on discrimination and vulnerable consumers that have provoked changes in the financial services industry. Internationally, her roles have included working as the Attaché on Accountability and Governance for the EU in Uganda coordinating donor responses to corruption in the country and Anti-Terrorism Adviser to the OSCE ODIHR.