Ronald J. Deibert

Ronald J. Deibert

Politics | Tech

Ronald J. Deibert is professor of Political Science and founder and director of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto. The Citizen Lab undertakes interdisciplinary research at the intersection of global security, information and communications technologies, and human rights. The research outputs of the Citizen Lab are routinely covered in global media, including more than two dozen reports that received exclusive front-page coverage in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other global media over the last decade. Deibert is the author of Black Code: Surveillance, Privacy, and the Dark Side of the Internet, as well as numerous books, chapters, articles, and reports on internet censorship, surveillance and cybersecurity.

RESET: RECLAIMING THE INTERNET FOR CIVIL SOCIETY

RESET: RECLAIMING THE INTERNET FOR CIVIL SOCIETY

Winner of the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing

‘Reading this book might make you wish to set fire to your smartphone, but it might also make you wish to call for reform. If you do the latter you might consider the former, as long as that thing is on, they know where you live.’

MARGARET ATWOOD

‘There have been many disturbing books about the surveillance society and its abuses. This one is more convincing than most … He has some of the best – ie most horrifying – stories. And, above all, he is right: one more unchallenged step down this road and any remaining shreds of our freedom and privacy will be lost.’

BRYAN APPLEYARD, THE SUNDAY TIMES
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‘Deibert is a rare hybrid who combines an advanced understanding of computer technology with a rich background in political science. He is also a legend in security and tech circles.’

Misha Glenny, McMafia

 

‘No one has done more than Ron Deibert and his lab to expose the enemies of the internet … Reset is the definitive narrative of where we went wrong and a last chance to make things right.’

Edward Snowden

 

‘Tech is at a crossroads between oppression and liberation, and Ronald J. Deibert is our leading expert on the forces steering it in either direction. Reset is a road map revealing the secret alleys and byways that brought us to this juncture, and the ways ahead that we could navigate to a better future.’

Cory Doctorow, author of Radicalized and Walkaway

 

‘Ron Deibert has been at the heart of analysing the harms of technology to human rights, and increasingly to the human condition, for decades. His deep research and clear moral compass make his plea for a “reset” an urgent one … Essential reading.’

Marietje Schaake, international policy director of the Cyber Policy Center, Stanford University, and president of The Cyberpeace Institute

 

‘Destined to become one of the 21st century’s seminal political texts.’

The Herald

 

2020 Massey Lectures

Six lectures by Ronald J. Deibert exposing the disturbing influence and impact of the internet and social media on politics, the economy, the environment and humanity.