Synopsis

We want to break down the barriers for hackers to make real change in the law. Recent events have illustrated a serious disconnect between our representation in Congress and the reality that we live. We’re working to bridge that gap, using online collaboration, purpose-built tools, and cooperative outreach with our elected representatives.

In this workshop we’ll walk you through the process of turning an idea for change into law. We have a methodology we’ve been using for tech issues, and we’d like to try it out, with your help, on other areas of the law that could use some work. By the end of this workshop, you’ll understand and be able to use the process to make change in the world.

Bring an idea of a change you would like to see in the law and we’ll talk you through how to make that change.

Bio

Fork The Law is a nascent public interest organization originally founded to organize information to promote change in the Computer Fraud and Abuse act. While working on that, we realized that the ideas and processes we were putting together could be applied to any statutory change. The goal of the organization is to move from just talking about a problem to actively making steps to fix it.

Executive Director Christie has been a network engineer, an anthropologist, and a security researcher and now studies law at Santa Clara University in Silicon Valley. Her unique experience embodies what we aim to achieve with this project in breaking down boundaries between the governed and the government, between computer and legal code.

Technical Director Meredith co-founded the field of language-theoretic security with Len Sassaman and Sergey Bratus in 2010, and has been hard at work trying to fix the Internet since well before then. Alarmed by the idea that current interpretations of U.S. computer-crime laws could lead to the criminalization of research aimed at triaging and fixing software vulnerabilities, she asked herself what she could do to influence legislative reform. Fork the Law is her answer.

Legal Director Cathy is a litigation attorney whose areas of focus include constitutional rights, government and law enforcement abuse, Internet freedom, and children’s rights, particularly those associated with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. She is a former board member of the Asperger’s Association of America and founder of One Child at a Time, a nonprofit organization providing assistance to families of children and young adults with special needs. She has initiated and participated in conferences and state and federal lobbying related to Autism Spectrum Disorder.