Law Prof/Social Scientist | Osgoode Hall Law School | PhD Oxford (OII / Balliol) | Fellow/Affiliate: CitizenLab, BKCHarvard, CCRInitiative | twitter.com/@jon_penney | mastodon.social/@penney | jonpenney.com | Law, technology, and human rights
Jon Penney
@salon.com has picked up my essay (co-authored with Bruce Schneier) on the Trump's admin's weaponization of law, tech, and surveillance to chill protest and opposition. We link recent reporting on lack of student protests/activism to this broader Trump admin strategy. www.salon.com/2026/05/28/t...
"Chilling effects can be subtle, but today they are everywhere. And it’s not just students who are chilled by Trump administration threats."
@penney.bsky.social, author of Chilling Effects, on Donald Trump and free speech for @theconversation.com
#LawSky #PoliSky
https://cup.org/4fIEAFl
"We believe students aren’t protesting for a very simple reason: They are afraid. They are self-censoring and disengaging from campaign activism to avoid punitive measures," says senior research fellow Jon Penney @penney.bsky.social in his new essay for @theconversation.com.
Chilling Effects, Repression, Conformity, and Power in the Digital Age
With @penney.bsky.social, Ido Sivan-Sevilla (Remote Speaker), Aurelia Tamo-Larrieux, @aleksandraq.bsky.social
More information: cpdp.be/171875
#CPDP2026 #CPDPCultureClub #CompetingVisionsSharedFutures
Researchers say fear of arrests, deportations and retaliation is creating a “chilling effect” that’s keeping many students from protesting — even as young Americans sour on Trump.
theconversation.com/chilling-eff...
#polisky
Bruce Schneier (@schneier.com) and I have a new essay in @theconversation.com on the Trump administration's strategy of weaponizing law, technology, & surveillance to chill protest, dissent, & political opposition.
In short, the chilling effects are the point.
theconversation.com/chilling-eff...
Bruce Schneier (@schneier.com) and I have a new essay in @theconversation.com on the Trump administration's strategy of weaponizing law, technology, & surveillance to chill protest, dissent, & political opposition.
In short, the chilling effects are the point.
theconversation.com/chilling-eff...
Most chilling effects scholarship focuses on law's direct inhibition of speech. @penney.bsky.social new book asks a harder question: what about the indirect effects on conformity and power? We discuss on this week's Law Bytes podcast.
I found this enormously informative — a close reading of the encryption and metadata provisions, and implications of the Cloud Act agreement on the way.
Thanks @cyn-k.bsky.social, @kate-robertson.bsky.social, and @digitalprivacy.ca!
A persistent government strategy to sow fear through punitive measures has corroded freedom and democracy.
Bruce Schneier (@schneier.com) and I have a new essay in @theconversation.com on the Trump administration's strategy of weaponizing law, technology, & surveillance to chill protest, dissent, & political opposition.
In short, the chilling effects are the point.
theconversation.com/chilling-eff...
The Conversation U.S.
“Chilling effects” is a term people hear all the time: in court rulings, in debates over content moderation, in dealing with online harms, or in news coverage of surveillance and legal reforms. The…
Bruce Schneier (@schneier.com) and I have a new essay in @theconversation.com on the Trump administration's strategy of weaponizing law, technology, & surveillance to chill protest, dissent, & political opposition.
In short, the chilling effects are the point.
theconversation.com/chilling-eff...
A persistent government strategy to sow fear through punitive measures has corroded freedom and democracy.
New joint publication by @citizenlab.ca + @cancivlib.bsky.social! In which @kate-ro.bsky.social & I join forces w/ Tamir @digitalprivacy.ca to explain the federal govt's many... "(Un)forced Errors: Analysis of Proposed Surveillance Law Expansion under Bill C-22, An Act respecting lawful access" 🧵1/x
This submission analyzes Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act, which would enact broad surveillance obligations and reforms in Canada. Issues include: the bill’s sweeping scope, significant constitutional...
