Ugandan Government Obtains Mysterious, South Korean-Built Anti-Porn Machine

from the world-looks-on-in-partially-horrified-bemusement dept

At long last, Uganda's anti-porn "machine" has arrived. As The Next Web notes, the country's government placed an order for a porn-blocking machine last year, following on the heels of yet another anti-porn law. A company in South Korea has helpfully cobbled this together and presumably the Ugandan government will be deploying it shortly.

How does it work? No one knows for sure, possibly not even those in the government who spent $88,000 for it. TechZim has a theory.

The machine will detect pornographic pictures, videos or graphics taken or saved on phones, computers or cameras. Quite the super machine it seems. The minister did not however give details of exactly how the machine works, which makes sense as the machine will probably work better if people do not know exactly how and what it looks for.

How does the pornography detection machine work though? This machine is not the first attempt at detecting porn on devices. There are several products already available, the Paraben Porn Detection Stick being an example. The Stick uses advanced image analysing algorithms to identify facial features, flesh tones and body parts that are potentially pornographic among other things.

The Stick actually works to a certain extent. It errs on the side of over-zealousness as it flags normal photos as pornographic more frequently than the opposite. The Stick however only scans for images and not videos which are harder to scan. Uganda’s machine does both, which it should at $88,000 because the Paraben Porn Detection Stick costs around $129.

Why does it even exist? Well, one reason a porn-detecting machine might be put in place is to generate revenue, turning easy busts of easy bust-oglers into easy cash. Users caught looking at porn face steep fines (up to $3,000) and imprisonment. Another revenue stream would be helpful since the country's government is pretty much insolvent, even before shelling out $88,000 for a machine that might not actually do what the government thinks it will.

But it's not just about the revenue. There are other issues at play. On the surface, making porn illegal makes fiscal sense, thanks to the nation's cellphone users being tied to their SIM cards via government mandate. Other devices will remain relatively unsurveilled, but it's assumed the government's anti-porn committee will be pushing the nation's internet service providers to route their traffic through its anti-porn machine.

Rev. Fr. Simon Rokodo heads the government's ethics committee and has offered up an explanation of sorts for the technology's existence and deployment -- one that sounds like a statement from the Westboro Baptist Church.

We are going to attack and attack. I have fresh tactics. One of them is a censor gadget or machine. We are going to procure this machine and it will detect homos and porn actors, especially those misusing applications like Whatsapp with sex acts. The South Koreans are programming it. And very soon we will ship it into the country and all the evil will be busted.

This is a very cheery prognosis for a machine likely to develop a false positive problem, if it isn't defeated by quick and dirty workarounds immediately after deployment. And try as he might, Rokodo's anti-XXX-box isn't going to stand in the way of encrypted messages. Of course, the endgame might include banning encrypted messaging services and letting some form of deep packet inspection loose citizens' communications under the guise of running a superficially-clean country.

But once the government has become the censorious man-in-the-middle, all sorts of nasty things can happen. Criticism of the government might suddenly vanish along with the critics. Other entertainment sources not directly approved by the Rev might become inaccessible. Dissidents, journalists, and others with prior reason to fear their government might have their communications exposed. This may be the real endgame, with porn being the wedge. iAfrikan notes the machine reportedly traces VPN and Tor connections, which would allow it to block access to those seeking to keep their internet activity out of the government's hands.

Local reactions have ranged from outrage to ridicule with a few puritanical supporters speaking up for the government's plan to intercede on their behalf by making moral judgments calls for the entirety of the nation. Whatever it is Uganda is actually putting in place isn't just about porn. It's about government control of communications and access to information. It may be wearing a borrowed halo at the moment, but it's only a matter of time before mission creep sets in.

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Filed Under: internet, porn, south korea, uganda, wtf


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  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2017 @ 4:05am

    How does it work? No one knows for sure, possibly not even those in the government who spent $88,000 for it

    Clarke's third law:

    Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

    To those who seek power over others, computers are such a technology, and they expect them to provide magic solutions.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2017 @ 4:19am

    especially those misusing applications like Whatsapp with sex acts

    Yeah! Crackdown on those filthy degenerate Whatsapp-fuckers! When you use Whatsapp, don't misuse it. Remember kids, never fuck and message at the same time. It's basic decency and it saves lives!

    And very soon we will ship it into the country and all the evil will be busted

    Couldn't have said it better myself. Mind you, it's partly because I'm not a lunatic believer in magic sky fathers that transposes those mental states into a sort of "tech is basically magic" mindset. But I would also never be able to come up with "and all the evil will be busted".

    When all is said and done, I'm surprised this only cost them $88K. I feel like they would have paid at least twice with the same religious fervour that will keep them from admitting they where duped and that the so-called machine does nothing, or at least not what they intended.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    identicon
    black indian liar, 8 Sep 2017 @ 4:56am

    black indian liar

    seriously but, this machine is better than black indian liars any day, even a day in india where there is a whole country full of black indian liars of liars lying.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2017 @ 5:36am

      Re: black indian liar

      Your comments are idiotic and everyone here would appreciate it if you never returned.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Stephen T. Stone (profile), 8 Sep 2017 @ 9:07am

      Re: black indian liar

      No matter what you think of Shiva Ayyadurai and his quixotic crusade to litigate the truth out of existence, his ethnicity has no bearing on what Techdirt—and many commenters here—think of his claims. Please fuck off with your blatant racism.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Richard (profile), 8 Sep 2017 @ 4:56am

    Fake Bomb detetecors

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Richard (profile), 8 Sep 2017 @ 4:58am

      Re: Fake Bomb detectors

      The Ugandan government is obviously upset at having missed out on the fake bomb detectors - when Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Georgia, India, Iran, Kenya, Niger, Qatar, Romania, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam all bought them...
      see
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADE_651#Users

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2017 @ 9:43am

        Re: Re: Fake Bomb detectors

        Hmm... I wonder if they need an asteroid deflection device? Or maybe something that keeps away pandas?

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2017 @ 10:12am

          Re: Re: Re: Fake Bomb detectors

          They just might need a few of those lion repelling rocks, I've had mine for years and have never been attacked by a lion.

          link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    wshuff (profile), 8 Sep 2017 @ 5:02am

    If only they'd had that evil busting machine when Idi Amin was running things. The Israelis would have never needed to make that trip to Entebbe.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2017 @ 5:45am

    Ol outtatheblue is gonna be pissed when he hears about this.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Advocate (profile), 8 Sep 2017 @ 6:42am

    Let's not forget, even if their politicians are a full 15 IQ points higher than the average of their country, they're still below average on the world scale. In other words, their processing ability is not stellar.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2017 @ 8:10am

    $88,000.00 was the price for the 'anti-porn' blocking machine.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2017 @ 8:10am

    In the 21st century people still use pornography as an excuse to censor information they don't like.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Anonymous Anonymous Coward (profile), 8 Sep 2017 @ 8:31am

    Source

    The Ugandan's may have bought the machine from South Koreans, but I be they ordered it through some Nigerian Princes, in response to an email telling them some sad story.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    sinsi (profile), 8 Sep 2017 @ 8:53am

    heh I read that statement from Rev. Fr. Simon Rokodo in Trump's voice and it seemed to fit nicely...

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2017 @ 9:28am

    North korean anti porn machine: 4k video of kim jong un naked..rubbinh himself with cheese saying who wants to see a fat man explosion?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    stderric (profile), 8 Sep 2017 @ 10:53am

    I'm pretty sure the only anti-porn machine that'd actually work for the internet is a big ol' "OFF" switch.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    profssrfink (profile), 8 Sep 2017 @ 10:58am

    thumbs up

    I for one, love the idea of this whole thing. I love when defunct and generally insolvent nations place massive emphasis on the wrong syllables. I also love it when government leaders use language like "homos" and "busting evil." You can really feel the tide turning in their favor with all the top notch decision makings going on. Remember folks, the number one priority for all governments should always be busting all the evil especially if that evil comes in the form of peaceful people jerking off to a computer screen.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2017 @ 3:25pm

      Re: thumbs up

      Remember folks, the number one priority for all governments should always be busting all the evil especially if that evil comes in the form of peaceful people jerking off to a computer screen.

      Because they hate the idea that the masses could enjoy the same pleasures as they do.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2017 @ 11:28am

    Tor

    iAfrikan notes the machine reportedly traces VPN and Tor connections

    iAfrikan and Techzim both block Tor users, so I can't see what's being claimed, but they're not going to get something that "traces" those connections for only $88000.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2017 @ 1:47pm

    "and all the evil will be busted"
    translation: the "machine" won't work worth a damn

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2017 @ 4:01pm

    I seem to recall the effectiveness of porn blockers was summed up quite nicely in a Dilbert cartoon years ago.

    https://olsenbloom.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/18182-strip.gif

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2017 @ 4:01pm

    I seem to recall the effectiveness of porn blockers was summed up quite nicely in a Dilbert cartoon years ago.

    https://olsenbloom.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/18182-strip.gif

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 8 Sep 2017 @ 4:27pm

    still not clear what this "machine" does, it can't break into everyone's phones and be used as a firewall at the same time, which the article seems to indicate.

    if it's a firewall, how then are you going to deal with vpn or tor or, insert any other non http protocol

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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