VIDEO: Activists bring tech “confession booth” to SXSW

Organizers are demonstrating at SXSW conference with a “confessional booth” calling on the tech employees to blow the whistle on unethical practices in Silicon Valley.

Activists have brought a confession booth adorned with banners reading, “Tech Confession Booth” and “Confess your Silicon Valley Sins & Receive Forgiveness” complete with a “priest” to preach to the masses of tech workers who attend the yearly festival. The stunt comes on the heels of Fight for the Future launching the SpeakOut.tech resource hub and campaign calling on Silicon Valley employees to blow the whistle on unethical uses of technology, government surveillance invasions of privacy, and more.

The booth is turning heads outside parties and events sponsored by Google, Facebook, and other big tech companies, humorously calling for Silicon Valley employees to blow the whistle on corporate wrongdoing, government surveillance, and unethical uses of technology.

“We did this to get people laughing and thinking about what secrets lie in Silicon Valley,” said Jelani Drew, campaigner for Fight for the Future, “but we also know there is nothing funny about tech companies helping violate human rights. That’s why we also included SpeakOut.tech handouts and the ‘I support whistleblowers’ photo prop. We want tech employees to blow the whistle on tech company wrongdoing and know they are not alone.”

Here is a collection of photos and video from the action: https://medium.com/@fightfortheftr/activists-bring-tech-confession-booth-to-sxsw-8e654e8e3df9