Techlore Surveillance Report Nicholas Merrill, Founder of Calyx Institute - Full-Length Interview
10 snips
Dec 11, 2020 
Nicholas Merrill, founder of the Calyx Institute and privacy advocate, shares his journey from ISP operator to championing digital rights. He discusses challenging an FBI gag order, emphasizing the importance of privacy technologies. Merrill expresses skepticism about cryptocurrencies, likening them to the dot-com bubble, and underscores Calyx's focus on building privacy tools over legal battles. He also highlights the emotional toll of secrecy, drawing parallels with Edward Snowden, and addresses the digital divide through community hotspots.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Three-Pronged Privacy Strategy
- Merrill outlines three complementary ways to protect privacy: litigation, legislation, and technical design with encryption.
- He chose to focus on technical solutions after lengthy litigation showed limits of legal and legislative routes.
Litigation Wins Don't Always Stick
- Repeated court wins don't always create nationwide change without Supreme Court resolution.
- Merrill found litigation limited when the government kept appealing and Congress amended laws to blunt rulings' effects.
Pivot After A Crowdfunding Shortfall
- When crowdfunding under-delivers, pivot expectations and continue with a smaller, realistic plan.
- Merrill kept building the project after an Indiegogo flop by scaling goals to match funds raised.
