Syrian Activist Arrested By Secret Police Merely For Having Livestreaming App Installed On His Phone
from the app-tip-off dept
Police and security forces around the world -- and that includes in the West -- hate being recorded when they're overstepping the mark in the execution of their duties, since it allows the public to challenge official accounts, and even to use videos to seek redress. But there's one thing worse than being recorded, and that's being livestreamed: even the most nimble authorities can't confiscate the recording from its creator, since it's already been uploaded for the world to see.
No wonder, then, that the livestreaming app Bambuser has become one of the most popular -- and potent -- weapons for activists to deploy against heavy-handed policing, allowing them to fight back in a non-violent way against institutional brutality around the world. But the inevitable corollary is that powerful as it is, Bambuser is now seen as a threat in itself. Last year, the Egyptian government blocked Bambuser, and this worrying tweet from the official Bambuser account, suggests that the Syrian authorities are going even further in their crackdown on the service:
We just got this: "secret police arrested a person because he had bambuser application on his mobile" Disgusting to hear! #Assad
No more is known about the fate of that activist, but it's a disturbing turn of events when just the presence of a piece of general software on your phone is grounds for arrest. Of course, it would be relatively easy to disguise that app with a fake name and icon, but it won't take police long to move on to the next stage and try opening up apps to see what they do. And in any case, anyone actually using Bambuser or similar streaming tools to record police and security force actions now knows that they are in danger.
This shows that the theory that turning everyone into citizen journalists to broadcast what's happening, as it's happening, will give activists new tools to fight against oppressive regimes is fine -- until the mere possession of those tools is enough to get you arrested.
Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca, and on Google+
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: free speech, law enforcement, live streaming, secret police, syria
Companies: bambuser
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re:
Revolution is most likely to occur when a
prolonged period of rising espectations (material and nonmaterial) and rising gratifications is followed by a short period of sharp reversal, during which the gap between what people want and what they get quickly widens and becomes intolerable.
The government is slowly losing its legitimacy and fighting to maintain it. The people in Syria lived with dictatorial rule for quite some time but the Arab Spring movement showed people a new life. New jobs are attainable by overthrowing a corrupt regime. Unfortunately, the Obama administration has not put together its own Marshall Plan to help the Arab world.
What we're seeing is the last remnants of a government looking to crush opposition. Unfortunately, democratic countries haven't come in to help bring up a middle class. Instilling actual democracies in areas is quite difficult when you have a ton of people who believe in a small government that works against those interests.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Sounds like OWS
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Sounds like OWS
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Just Wait
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Right now I am more worried about the authoritarian encroachment here in the USA, everyone should have Bambuser up and running to protect themselves.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re:
What do you do, though, if the will of the people is to elect a conservative religious government?
Cultural Clash Fuels Muslims Raging at Film - NYTimes.com: "When the protests against an American-made online video mocking the Prophet Muhammad exploded in about 20 countries, the source of the rage was more than just religious sensitivity, political demagogy or resentment of Washington, protesters and their sympathizers here said. It was also a demand that many of them described with the word 'freedom,' although in a context very different from the term’s use in the individualistic West: the right of a community, whether Muslim, Christian or Jewish, to be free from grave insult to its identity and values."
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in thread ]
He's lucky to be alive
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re:
More education trumps religious zealotry. They've needed help in defining the things that are needed in the new democracy that is forming.
"When the protests against an American-made online video mocking the Prophet Muhammad exploded in about 20 countries, the source of the rage was more than just religious sensitivity, political demagogy or resentment of Washington, protesters and their sympathizers here said. It was also a demand that many of them described with the word 'freedom,' although in a context very different from the term’s use in the individualistic West: the right of a community, whether Muslim, Christian or Jewish, to be free from grave insult to its identity and values."
The film was the tenderbox. But that's not what everyone is truly against here. .
The three grievances I've listed (and there are others) aren't wholly unrelated to that horrible YouTube video. They're interpreted by some Muslims as evidence of American contempt for the Muslim world, and the video was taken as yet more confirmation.
Obviously, the fact that an American policy contributes to anti-Americanism in the Muslim world isn't by itself a decisive argument against the policy. But ever since terrorism became a significant threat to American interests, this consideration has belonged in the policy cost-benefit calculus. All the more so in the wake of the Arab Spring, when the policies of Egypt and some other Muslim countries are more responsive to popular opinion, and anti-American sentiment can therefore translate more directly into anti-American policies.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
I'd like to believe that, but we've got a sizable number of people in the US who believe what they want to believe even when confronted with facts that suggest otherwise. Once people get a bias into their heads, no matter how irrational, it seems like they cling to it forever. If we have people in the US who believe in questionable or totally false constructs, I don't know how we can expect the rest of the world to be more open to adjusting their beliefs.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
I'm positive that if we wanted to have an informed citizenry, it is attainable in one or two generations. The same can be said of any other country that is evolving into a democratic state.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Just Wait
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Well, I totally support the effort. I can accept diversity of opinions, but I can't accept opinions formed on inaccurate information because working from that perspective won't likely produce acceptable solutions.
If people are led to believe their problems are caused by factors that have nothing to do with those problems, then they are ill-equipped to actually solve the problems.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Sounds like OWS
> Occupy Wall Streeter tries to video.
Or a Tea Partier, or someone just pulled over for speeding.
Disheveled, unhygienic bohemians don't have a monopoly on being oppressed.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re: Just Wait
> a facebook account
Some employers-- ironically a lot of police departments among them-- have already taken the step beyond asking for access to an applicant's Facebook account.
Because many people have heard about employers doing this and have deleted or canceled their accounts before applying, they now consider it to be a black mark against you in the interview if you don't have a Facebook account at all.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re:
Agenda 21 and the UN Plot to Take Over America: Bill Proposed In Florida Expands Its Reach To Stop Just About Everything Green : TreeHugger
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: Re:
So how are we supposed to help an emerging Syrian "middle-class" of Al-Quaeda criminal terrorists? Why are you even thinking of helping these criminals? Do you have any idea of how to help the Syrian Christians who are about to be slaughtered by these "middle class" savages?
[ link to this | view in thread ]