Cabaero: New ways to push protest

The Hong Kong demonstrations showed how technology provides new ways to get around censorship and other moves to curtail free expression.

There was a time when protest movements were stopped by police force and the shutdown of communication means. For the government that is the target of the protest, it is imperative to stop the message from spreading and getting more support.

With technology, protest movements could get around censorship and even the arrest of leaders because demonstrations are held not only on the streets but also online. The street rally may be stopped with police force but no amount of censorship could curtail protest messages online for a longer period. The message may be removed from a website now, but it could reappear in a blog or elsewhere.

The Chinese government knew what it should do to control information flow after the umbrella revolution protest broke out last week. Protesters demanding less China intervention in Hong Kong knew, too, what to do.

It was expected that the Chinese government would resort to online censorship when demonstrators, mostly students, started their protest actions to call for the resignation of Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and the removal of Beijings control over election procedures. Instagram, the photo-sharing network, was reportedly blocked in China. The Twitter alternative, Weibo, has seen a record number of posts deleted for using the term umbrella revolution.

These attempts at controlling the message didnt quite work for the Hong Kong protesters who became more creative in finding ways to keep the communication lines open.

For fear that Internet connection would go soon, protesters resorted to using an application that allowed the exchange of messages without Internet connection or wifi. The FireChat application is free on the Apple and Google stores and allows users to send text and photo messages with those in their networks within a distance of 40 to 70 meters. It uses Bluetooth and peer-to-peer connections and cannot be blocked or stopped, unless the police grab mobile phones of the thousands of users on Hong Kong streets.

Open Garden, the maker of FireChat, noted 200,000 downloads of the application in Hong Kong in just two days. Before that, the application was known only as an alternative means in countries where Internet connection was limited and as an emergency communication method when disasters bring down telecommunications towers.

As the Chinese government keeps deleting posts about the protest movement, the student demonstrators continue to inform colleagues and the media of their next actions without fear of online surveillance or curtailment.

The next time protest breaks, in the Philippines or elsewhere, expect new ways brought about by technology to keep the message going.

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Cabaero: New ways to push protest