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Issac Asimov's Harry Seldon used "psycho-history" to predict the future. Tom Cruise used "precogs" in Minority Report. And now a pro-Putin think tank is trying to divine dissident activity by mining social media.
The Center for Research in Legitimacy and Political Protest claims to have developed software that will search Russian social media posts for signs of plans by political opposition to the government to stage unapproved protests or meetings. Described by an Izvestia report [in Russian] as "a system to prevent mass disorder," the software searches through social media posts once every five minutes to catch hints of "unauthorized actions" and potentially alert law enforcement to prevent them.
Public protests, rallies, marches, and meetings staged without government approval are outlawed in Russia—individuals can be fined up to about $600 (30,000 rubles) for participating in such events or sentenced to 50 hours of community service.
The software, which went live on May 18, is named "Laplace's demon" after the theoretical all-seeing intellect that could calculate the future of the universe based on the position and state of all matter. According to the Center's director, Yevgeny Venediktov, the software specifically monitors "politically oriented groups of social protest" at a national level, as well as local discussion platforms for specific geographic areas. "Particular attention will be paid to the number of likes and reposts in extremist groups." Groups and user pages associated with "extremists" are tagged by volunteers, aggregated into a central database, and analyzed and filtered by sociologists and political scientists.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by frojack on Wednesday May 20 2015, @11:51PM
How is this different from that the NSA is doing?
The only difference is that protests are specifically allowed in the US and many EU countries.
Doesn't mean you aren't tracked, or that the local police don't know you are coming while you are still packing your bags.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday May 20 2015, @11:54PM
I would like to thank our Russian friends for parading their superior capabilities. Utah's been a bit dry and needed a river of drool.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by looorg on Thursday May 21 2015, @12:06AM
How is this different from that the NSA is doing?
As you note there isn't any different at all. One could possibly even commend them for being forthright and coming out and saying what they are doing. That is really the best for oppression if you are into that sort of thing. Now people will be scared and they will start to oppress themselves. After all you never know when Uncle Ivan (or whatever) is watching.
That said. I followed the link in the article. Why does it look like the user-interface for the "Laplace's Demon" is the ui from some hacking tool from the late 90's. The BIG blue eyes there sure does sell the big brother is watching fantasy.
(Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Thursday May 21 2015, @12:46AM
Sheeah, protests in Free-Speech Zones [wikipedia.org], which themselves resemble improvised internment camps. Which country are we in again?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 21 2015, @08:27AM
How is this different from that the NSA is doing?
Because when the bad guys do it, it's oppressive and evil, but when the good guys do it, it's for our own good. Don't you see? Completely different!
The sad thing is that this argument is being used without a shred of sarcasm in the wider world. If I was less skeptical person, I'd think George Orwell was a prophet.
(Score: 2) by sudo rm -rf on Thursday May 21 2015, @09:40AM
The only difference is that protests are specifically allowed in the US and many EU countries.
Doesn't mean you aren't tracked, or that the local police don't know you are coming while you are still packing your bags.
It did happen in Germany already and is still happening. Police collects cell phone data from participants of "unwelcomed" demonstrations (e.g. [spiegel.de][article in German] Dresden 2011: 17,000 people demonstrated against neo-nazis, >800,000 cell phones where tracked) and uses this to predict if certain individuals are going to visit another "unwelcomed" demonstration. Then they pick up the people as soon as they are leaving their home to go there (You can be arrested for 24h without giving a reason).
(Score: 2) by Yog-Yogguth on Friday May 22 2015, @03:09AM
That comment of yours really brought out the least optimistic side of me (understatement of the week) XD
Someone is protesting.
Someone is protesting against someone's convictions and right to protest.
Someone is monitoring and mapping someone's convictions and right to protest against someone's convictions and right to protest.
Do you spot any similarities? Who were the fascists again? Only the ones that aren't “you” (not necessarily you personally)? I imagine there was a complete absence of “righteous” bloodlust from all three layers (sarcasm). There sure was when there was an identical situation close to where I live although in fairness it was only from the people protesting against people protesting but that might as well have been accidental (although typical). And it wasn't like they limited themselves to that either (as usual). It's not like everyone didn't notice: everyone did (as usual). Such boring old crap.
At least the third layer can claim they're trying to keep the other two layers separate from each other. Maybe. Makes a “great excuse” for more surveillance too, not just surveillance against “you” or “them” but me too and everyone all the time :( I don't blame you in particular.
Makes me grateful I'm not inclined towards participating in “protests”. So easy to be misused, pretty much guaranteed. “You” are all automatically collectivists in the worst manner possible, when I call myself “far right” I denounce “you” all. Nazis/whatever are far left, maybe a little less (or a little more) far left than the average communist/whatever but still decidedly far left from my point of view.
Of course the initial statements are wrong:
it's actually four layers, I didn't include the first layer who are advocating fascism but who aren't marching and who are supported by the fascist organizations in Europe that you misidentify as layer two but who are more or less equally present (and dominant) in all four layers. It's not like they didn't do much the same a little less than century ago.
And they fooled “you” that time as well. Or maybe “you” fooled “yourself” into thinking the fascists can't win because “you” didn't spot them playing all sides?
Meanwhile ordinary people are mostly driven away but the very real problems remain, if “you” drive them far enough away from voicing their own opinions and grievances and into identifying with “you” (or “your” “enemies”, same thing) then “you” end up guaranteeing that the worst “solution” will win once again just as it did twice during the last century (and I'm not talking about world wars).
Sarcasm: because the twentieth century just wasn't awful enough; communism and national socialism (and all the multiple “better” and “more human” or “scientific” variations of both) just wasn't enough so now we add religious fanatics and a completely insane supranational “surveillance superpower” greedy to milk every dissatisfaction and potential conflict until the very last dollar (but there is no last dollar, there is no end). Hurray! (N.b. did you know “hurray” is from Turkish? Fits the sarcasm perfectly).
Nothing personal. Please excuse me while I puke.
I don't wish it on you or anyone but despite that it's obvious “you” all deserve it, maybe/likely everyone does and maybe/likely I do too :(
To a continually greater extent it seems humanity doesn't even qualify as a horribly bad joke.
Sorry for my despair, laugh :)
Bite harder Ouroboros, bite! tails.boum.org/ linux USB CD secure desktop IRC *crypt tor (not endorsements (XKeyScore))
(Score: 2) by Yog-Yogguth on Friday May 22 2015, @01:49AM
I agree it's not different (or maybe even a great deal less worrisome if it's a separate stand alone thing) than parts of what the NSA & co. are doing. And it's still wrong yet plenty of ordinary people do it too, in essence it's no different at all from “doxing” etc.
The only difference is that protests are specifically allowed in the US and many EU countries
Or we like(d) to think so out of the habit of being much better off than people subjugated under communism. There's no doubt that part about being better off was true, Gorbachev, Yeltsin, Putin, Medvedev, and most politicians in Russia openly admit that (past tense in the case of Yeltsin). The current communist party in the Russian Federation only polls around 14% of the voters last I heard (but take that with a grain of salt as I'm not paying much attention to their (lack of) popularity).
And of course there are the heroes like Lech Wałęsa, Václav Havel, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (Putin's favourite or at least that's what he says) and everyone like them including many tens or hundreds of millions of tortured and murdered people who would testify likewise.
However.
/However/.
I don't know of any country anywhere (at least not in Europe, Asia, or North America, doubt the rest are any better) that allows demonstrations unless they've been approved in advance. To some degree it's justifiable and to some degree I know of police forces that are lenient as long as some compromise is reached concerning valid issues like not interfering with the rights of others, but that's all: the laws (plural) against it are still there for instant use.
So protests aren't really much of a measure.
What about freedom of association [wikipedia.org]? In my opinion it is impossible for it to exist in any meaningful manner when there is mass surveillance.
Repression is the word that fits. And it doesn't make much sense if anyone was to claim freedom alongside repression.
[Not that freedom of association doesn't have plenty of enemies even without mass surveillance (political infiltration by “the righteous” of any kind is commonplace in all organizations etc. and spelled out in “the rule book” for most communists and national socialists, islam too if one counts taqqiya, idtirar, kitman, and hiyal [wikipedia.org]). It's not only states and nations that are repressive.]
So maybe freedom of association isn't much of a measure either.
How about the right to an opinion without sanction? Freedom of conviction?
I don't even have to bother with that one do I?
If we twist and turn we can still see the sky far above, imagine when we have fallen a little further down the rabbit hole and even that is gone, at the speed we're falling that will happen.
Bite harder Ouroboros, bite! tails.boum.org/ linux USB CD secure desktop IRC *crypt tor (not endorsements (XKeyScore))
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday May 22 2015, @03:51AM
I don't know of any country anywhere (at least not in Europe, Asia, or North America, doubt the rest are any better) that allows demonstrations unless they've been approved in advance.
Wow! Where do you live?
I can tell you for certain that a demonstration can break out anywhere in the US on a moment's notice, with signs and slogans and everything. As long as you are not unruly, don't block traffic, don't make threats, you demonstrate all day long.
Only time you need a permit is if you are want to hold a march in the streets. And if you live in a very liberal jurisdiction, you can get a parade permit in 15 minutes.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by Yog-Yogguth on Friday May 22 2015, @07:36PM
Sure I agree (and what you describe can happen anywhere at all, it could and did even happen in the Soviet Union and China) but that's not actually “legal” or allowed as such, the powers that be (anywhere) could stop it at a whim and it would be completely “legal” of them to do so, and it doesn't take much to prod them into doing it either although sometimes they'll resist.
They can stop previously approved demonstrations as well if they feel like it/want to and they often do. Its ever so easy to make reasonable arguments in each case as well, both fake and genuine ones.
Bite harder Ouroboros, bite! tails.boum.org/ linux USB CD secure desktop IRC *crypt tor (not endorsements (XKeyScore))