Sure, we're not living with the level of popular disturbance that Ukraine is -- but the rest of the article makes clear that the thugs seem as likely to be the authorities as the protesters.KIEV, Ukraine — The Ukrainian government used telephone technology to pinpoint the locations of cellphones in use near clashes between riot police officers and protesters early on Tuesday, illustrating that techniques that can be used to target commercial information can serve law enforcement as well.
People near the fighting between riot police and protesters received a text message shortly after midnight saying “Dear subscriber, you are registered as a participant in a mass disturbance.”
The phrasing echoed language in a new law making participation in a protest deemed violent a crime punishable by imprisonment.
2 comments:
And I read that local police are using the data to then zero in on those like drug users/dealers. They cannot use it as evidence in court but they are using it to begin their own surveillance. It is part of a police state. I get it that most of us aren't worried about being caught doing something illegal because we aren't. But is it a good trend? It easily goes to during the Vietnam War and what happened to those like Jane Fonda with wiretaps and surveillance to try and find something they could charge dissenters with. If we accept it for our 'safety', it's going an ugly direction for what comes next. Yeah, it's my opinion. The thing is I think a lot of us suspected it. But now that they know we know and we don't care-- what comes next? And it might be someone in power with whom we agree with less...
This kind of mass intimidation can lead to mass incarceration and worse in a police state.
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