Dark teal and yellow event graphic for the Global Encryption Day Summit 2026. Large white text at left announces the summit, with the theme “Imagine a World Without Encryption: Defending the Foundation of Digital Trust.” The Global Encryption Coalition logo appears at lower left and the date, 21 October 2026, at bottom center. At right, a black-and-white halftone image shows a person holding a set of keys beside a smartphone, framed by bold yellow and white shapes.
5:05 pm on September 22, 2026 · 2026 (268), Global Encryption (22)

WEBINAR 21 OCT 15:00 UTC: GEC – Global Encryption Day Summit 2026

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Dark teal and yellow event graphic for the Global Encryption Day Summit 2026. Large white text at left announces the summit, with the theme “Imagine a World Without Encryption: Defending the Foundation of Digital Trust.” The Global Encryption Coalition logo appears at lower left and the date, 21 October 2026, at bottom center. At right, a black-and-white halftone image shows a person holding a set of keys beside a smartphone, framed by bold yellow and white shapes.
On Wednesday, 21 October 2026 at 11:00–15:00 EDT (15:00–19:00 UTC), the Global Encryption Coalition (GEC) Steering Committee, with partners the Internet Society, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), Mozilla and Global Partners Digital (GPD) hosts the ‘Global Encryption Day Summit 2026‘, themed ‘Imagine a World Without Encryption: Defending the Foundation of Digital Trust‘.

Global Encryption Day is an annual day of action to celebrate, promote and defend encryption. End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is the gold standard, yet policies worldwide threaten to undermine it, often by presenting encryption as a problem for law enforcement. Protecting encryption means protecting people. Four virtual sessions cover encryption bans and content scanning, drawing on GPD’s updated World Map of Encryption; public attitudes to encryption; the growing pressure on encrypted messaging and VPNs; and the rollout of post-quantum encryption. The summit is delivered in English, French and Spanish. Registration is limited to users in certain listed countries and regions.

11:00 EDT (15:00 UTC) — BANS AND SCANS: INSIGHTS FROM GPD’S WORLD MAP OF ENCRYPTION
Organizer: Global Partners Digital
André Ramiro – Hamburg University / Latin American Network for Surveillance Technology and Society
Mallory Knodel – Executive Director, Social Web Foundation
Luiza Dutra – Incoming Postdoctoral Researcher in Law, University of Ottawa
Ellie McDonald – Policy and Advocacy Lead, Global Partners Digital

12:00 EDT (16:00 UTC) — DISCONNECTED: WHAT THE PUBLIC WANTS VS WHAT POLICY MAKERS DELIVER ON ENCRYPTION
Organizer: Center for Democracy & Technology

13:00 EDT (17:00 UTC) — FROM ENCRYPTED MESSAGING TO VPNS: THE EXPANDING ATTACK ON PRIVACY
Organizer: Internet Society
John Perrino – Senior Policy and Advocacy Expert, Internet Society
James Baker – Platform Power and Free Expression Program Manager, Open Rights Group
Veridiana Alimonti – Associate Director for Latin American Policy, Electronic Frontier Foundation

14:00 EDT (18:00 UTC) — GETTING READY FOR Q-DAY: POST-QUANTUM ENCRYPTION LEAVES THE LAB
Organizer: Mozilla
Neha Kochar – Director of Engineering (Firefox Security, Privacy & Networking), Mozilla
Svea Windwehr

#GlobalEncryptionDay #Encryption #E2EE #PostQuantum