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posted by LaminatorX on Monday January 19 2015, @10:24PM   Printer-friendly
from the papers-please dept.

Bangladeshi telecom authorities shut down smartphone messaging and voice services Viber and Tango, which have become a popular communication medium for supporters of the anti-government protests now in their third week.

The Bangladesh Telecommunications and Regulatory Commission closed down the apps “for the time being” on orders from law enforcement and security agencies, a commission spokesman told AFP. He did not give reasons for the decision, but local television station Channel 24 said Viber and Tango were shut down to prevent protesters from “exchanging information” across the country.

Viber and Tango have been popular among opposition protesters, including activists from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its Islamist allies who have launched a crippling nationwide transport blockade to try to topple the government. The protests have turned increasingly violent with activists firebombing hundreds of buses and trucks, and security forces retaliating with live bullets or tear gas. At least 25 people have died in the latest violence including about a dozen burnt to death after protesters firebombed buses.

http://www.bgr.in/news/bangladesh-shuts-down-messaging-services-viber-and-tango-to-quell-violence/

[Also Covered By]: http://phys.org/news/2015-01-bangladesh-messaging-quell-violence.html

Do you think that such measures really work, either in the short term or in the long term ?? Given the above situation how would you handle it ?

 
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  • (Score: 2) by DECbot on Tuesday January 20 2015, @12:26AM

    by DECbot (832) on Tuesday January 20 2015, @12:26AM (#136192) Journal

    That works until some three letter agency tracks everyone you call, everyone that calls you, and everyone your caller calls, and the callers' caller calls..... and tracks all of their political affiliations (member of $TERRORIST party? YES/no). Then officers with black uniforms with red armbands ^W^W^W^W^W black body armor jump out of armored vans with machine guns and secret court papers in hand to haul you away to secret trials.

    --
    cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday January 20 2015, @01:54AM

    by c0lo (156) on Tuesday January 20 2015, @01:54AM (#136212) Journal
    Nope, while the low tech phone may broadcast the identity of the sender (even if it's more the location of transmission, and less the identity of the sender as such), it definitely won't divulge the identity of the receiver(s).
    Go watch the documentary piece that I linked to get an explanation on how it works.
    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 20 2015, @01:56AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 20 2015, @01:56AM (#136214)

      the link doesn't go to a documentary but to a daffy duck b/w cartoon

      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday January 20 2015, @03:39AM

        by c0lo (156) on Tuesday January 20 2015, @03:39AM (#136225) Journal
        Wow. How observant!!
        Did you also notice if the cartoon shows an indian coordinating an attack by the use of a low tech phone?
        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 20 2015, @05:07AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 20 2015, @05:07AM (#136240)
          No, I'm not trying to sit around watching shitty old racist cartoons, its mlk day so turned it off soon as i saw the "indian". Sorry, you said documentary and i thought that you may have mislinked. I don't think that at&t will be maintaining their traditional phone service forever. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-02-28/at-and-t-proposes-alabama-florida-for-digital-tests-to-lose-rules [businessweek.com] so could be all voip in the future bc that has the highest call quality. Jacob Applebaum has started a " rel="url2html-14304">https://people.torproject.org/~ioerror/skunkworks/moto_e/"> [soylentnews.org] project to return a motorola e to a low tech state. I was hoping that someone else had started a similar project.
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 20 2015, @05:12AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 20 2015, @05:12AM (#136241)

            wow, can't even html applebaum moto e project [torproject.org]

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 20 2015, @05:53AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 20 2015, @05:53AM (#136250)

            I was hoping that someone else had started a similar project.

            Yeap, as old as the Native Americans: smoke signals.
            (happy now?)

          • (Score: 1) by anubi on Tuesday January 20 2015, @08:21AM

            by anubi (2828) on Tuesday January 20 2015, @08:21AM (#136271) Journal

            Apparently, there is a several smart phone ad-hoc networks [wikipedia.org] (SPAN) in the fray.

            Firechat is one of them.

            --
            "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 20 2015, @04:33PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 20 2015, @04:33PM (#136410)

            Why? Did he look too much like Mohamed?

    • (Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Tuesday January 20 2015, @12:02PM

      by Hairyfeet (75) <{bassbeast1968} {at} {gmail.com}> on Tuesday January 20 2015, @12:02PM (#136309) Journal

      In case you haven't been keeping up with current events the teleco corps have been selling cellular backbone gear that lets you intercept pretty much everything [bloomberg.com] and even makes nice little transcripts thanks to the lovely software we sell with 'em. Free rubber hoses with every purchase of $75K or more so call now, operators are standing by!

      Your video can claim whatever it want, won't change the fact that if the enemy controls the backbone that's your ass Mr Postman. With this gear they get location, text, and transcripts of conversations, more than enough to hang you with.

      --
      ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday January 21 2015, @05:53AM

        by c0lo (156) on Wednesday January 21 2015, @05:53AM (#136600) Journal

        Your video can claim whatever it want

        LOL!
        FYI: the linked Looney Tunes clip "demonstrates" the use of smoke signals (from a phone booth with a chimney) to gather a horde Native Americans against Duffy Duck.
        Good luck to you with your lovely software.

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0