Tech

Hacker Conference DEF CON Bans Pro-Trump Outlet OAN

Organizers said OAN journalists violated the conference’s privacy policy.
A reporter with One America News Network works at a campaign rally with President Donald Trump at Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport on September 25, 2020 in Newport News, Virginia. President Trump is scheduled to announce his nomination to t
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Hacking. Disinformation. Surveillance. CYBER is Motherboard's podcast and reporting on the dark underbelly of the internet.

The pro-Trump media company One America News (OAN) was banned from the hacking conference DEF CON for violating its privacy policy.

A DEF CON spokesperson told Motherboard that OAN staff “violated DEF CON’s privacy policy, repeatedly taking photo and video showing people’s faces without the consent of those individuals.”

The conference, which this year celebrated its 30th edition, has a strict policy that prohibits anyone, including journalists with a press pass, from taking pictures and videos that show attendees without their consent. 

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DEF CON’s organizers announced the permanent ban at the end of the conference on Sunday.

A DEF CON attendee said they saw OAN reporter Chanel Rion and a colleague at the conference, and saw the cameraman recording video with his GoPro. 

“Outside of the obvious infraction, everyone seemed to stay courteous and professional the whole time. There was no real drama or confrontation. Chanel was allowed to hang for a bit and introduced herself to some of the panelists. It was *not* a big scene,” the attendee wrote. 

OAN is the second outlet to be banned, after an NBC News TV crew was banned a few years ago, according to a DEF CON spokesperson.

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