Courtesy Of "Al-Jazeera"
Social media and mobile communication tools have come under increased scrutiny after web-savvy protesters took to Twitter, Facebook and BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) to organise demonstrations, riots, and even looting.
BBM, the private mobile phone messaging service, was targeted in particular because looters and rioters used it to organise acts of violence and theft in several UK cities.
In response, governments and civil-service authorities in the UK and US have begun to consider measures that would allow them to restrict access to internet and mobile networks, as well as services and applications in times of civil disturbance.
British Prime Minister David Cameron proposed measures that would allow the government to restrict users’ access to websites and services if they are being used to incite violence.
In San Francisco last week, BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) authorities unilaterally shut down mobile phone reception in underground stations to hinder would-be protesters. Crowds had assembled in the stations protest a BART officer’s fatal shooting of a man authorities claimed was armed with a knife.
Australia is also considering measures that include ISP filtering, a minimum age for Facebook users, and mandatory parental access to kids’ online social network profiles to protect minors from online predators.
Supporters of such restrictions argue that abuse of communication tools like Twitter and BBM threatens public safety.
But opponents counter that restrictions on digital communications tools, including social networking sites and mobile networks, restrict civil liberties and are fundamentally undemocratic.
Today on The Stream, John Perry Barlow will join the show via Skype to discuss censorship. He is the co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and is an author and expert on cyberspace and digital rights. Also on the programme is Mike Butcher of the technology news website Tech Crunch. Butcher advises the mayor of London on technology issues.
These are some of the social media elements featured in this episode of The Stream.
BBM, the private mobile phone messaging service, was targeted in particular because looters and rioters used it to organise acts of violence and theft in several UK cities.
In response, governments and civil-service authorities in the UK and US have begun to consider measures that would allow them to restrict access to internet and mobile networks, as well as services and applications in times of civil disturbance.
British Prime Minister David Cameron proposed measures that would allow the government to restrict users’ access to websites and services if they are being used to incite violence.
In San Francisco last week, BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) authorities unilaterally shut down mobile phone reception in underground stations to hinder would-be protesters. Crowds had assembled in the stations protest a BART officer’s fatal shooting of a man authorities claimed was armed with a knife.
Australia is also considering measures that include ISP filtering, a minimum age for Facebook users, and mandatory parental access to kids’ online social network profiles to protect minors from online predators.
Supporters of such restrictions argue that abuse of communication tools like Twitter and BBM threatens public safety.
But opponents counter that restrictions on digital communications tools, including social networking sites and mobile networks, restrict civil liberties and are fundamentally undemocratic.
Today on The Stream, John Perry Barlow will join the show via Skype to discuss censorship. He is the co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and is an author and expert on cyberspace and digital rights. Also on the programme is Mike Butcher of the technology news website Tech Crunch. Butcher advises the mayor of London on technology issues.
These are some of the social media elements featured in this episode of The Stream.
- A video released by the BART includes footage of demonstrators disrupting access to trains and eventually leading to a temporary shutdown of one transit station on Aug. 15. This time around, BART says their response did not involve disabling mobile communications.
- BART's decision to cut off phone service in tunnels drew comparisons to former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's crackdown on pro-democracy activists earlier this year.
- In Egypt, it takes a mass uprising to bring down a phone network - in the US, it takes rumors of a protest. #OpBART
- In the UK, looters organising via social media and mobile networks prompted Prime Minister David Cameron to consider initiatives that could give the government power to block or limit access to social media.
Below, is a mashup video, including music, of on-the-ground footage of the London riots. - Additional scenes of looting at night:
- Some Twitter users supported shutting down BlackBerry Messenger during the London riots, saying that the heavily encrypted mobile messaging service was being used by rioters and looters to target shops and neighbourhoods.
Below, a self-described "crime blogger" solicited support from Twitter users. Hundreds re-tweeted the message. - Please RT to get @UK_blackberry to shut down #BBM till riots end#BlockBBM let's get it trending #LondonRiots
- Critics of such proposals say the BBM platform shouldn't be blamed for the crimes themselves.
- No point in blaming #BBM for arranging #LondonRiots. Its patheticness like someone blaming roads if the enemy came via them
- I have a Blackberry and I use BBM, I don't loot and riot like the scum. It's not always used for bad things. Don't block BBM. #BlockBBM
- Others question what else might be blocked if the BBM service is blamed for events in London.
- blockbbm? If that doesn't work, maybe #blocktwitter, #blocksms,#blockfacebook, #blockgoogle, #blockphone, #blockspeech? Hmmm.
- In China, the government has a history of restricting citizens' access to mobile and web services with the intent to suppress political dissent.
- Chinese censors blocked mobile services and internet access to reports about dangers at a chemical plant in the north-east city of Dailin on Saturday at the same time the official Xinhua news agency endorsed British Prime Minister, David Cameron’s, suggestion that some people be banned from social media sites in the UK.
- Thumbnail image: A protester uses a mobile phone during a demonstration at the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Civic Center Station in San Francisco, California August 15, 2011. Protesters demonstrated on Monday against the subway system after BART turned off cell phone service in stations last week to foil a protest over a police shooting. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (UNITED STATES - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW BUSINESS TRANSPORT)
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