Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Sunday, November 04, 2012

Police refuse to confirm major purchases are rights violating devices

The BC Civil Liberties Association has confirmed that both the RCMP and Vancouver Police Departments have made major purchases from Dyplex Communications, the Canadian distributor for Datong, manufacturers of a futuristic communications interception device that can shut down cell phone service, act as a mobile cell tower and intercept phone messages, and build lists of all unique cell phone identifiers over a four block area. Both police agencies have refused to confirm whether or not they have purchased the device. The OPP has also refused to confirm whether they have a similar device. The Metropolitan Police in London, England have confirmed they have the device.

“Secrecy is often a feature of police investigations,” said Robert Holmes, Q.C., Executive Board Member of the BCCLA. “But tracking people without a warrant through their cell phones, intercepting their calls without their knowledge or the need for cooperation of a phone company, and having the power to arbitrarily suspend all cell phone use in an area, amount to serious invasions of privacy and freedom of individuals and we think those kinds of police tactics are wrong.”

Under previous versions of proposed lawful access legislation, mobile phone companies had to provide the name and address of a mobile phone subscriber without a warrant when police provided the IMEI/IMSI identifier from a phone. Most cell phone companies provide this information without a warrant anyway. This new device could permit police to capture all of the unique identifiers of individuals at a large protest, submit them to the phone company, and build a list of everyone who was at an event or rally.

“We would not tolerate police stopping everyone on the way in to a political rally or a protest, demanding their ID, and building a master list of who attended,” said Holmes. “We would not allow it in person, and we should not allow it through new technologies. If the police have these devices, they need strong policies and accountability mechanisms to ensure that they are not abused. But we can’t even talk about policies because the police won’t admit they have the devices in the first place.”

Original Article
Source: bccla.org
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