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California “Kill Switch” Bill Could Be Used to Disrupt Protests

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Re: California “Kill Switch” Bill Could Be Used to Disrupt Protests

#11

Post by michaelfeathers »

scelerat wrote: post #9

There are fundamental freedoms the government cannot and should not be able to subvert. Communicating with others, via any means necessary is one of them. I feel I am politically very far away from many guns rights activists, and am wary of the practical outcomes of widespread weapon ownership, but at the same time I believe 2nd Amendment advocates are completely right to be wary of government's ability to strip indi…

If this legislation passes (and I hope it doesn't) there will be an immediate First Amendment challenge.

One place where we've been lucky is the fact that the FCC has rules against jamming of any sort of radio signal.

Re: California “Kill Switch” Bill Could Be Used to Disrupt Protests

#12

Post by Someone1234 »

jeffrey8chang wrote: post #5

There's just too many backdoors in smart phones. That's why I choose to use standalone hardware that can work with any phone for my voice encryption project: http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/31/jackpair/

I don't think I see the relevance. This article isn't about spying on you, it is about disabling your phone remotely ("kill switch," etc). How does encrypting your voice before it enters your phone mitigate that?

Plus if you're paranoid enough to use that then frankly you're too paranoid to own a cellphone at all. They can still use it to track your location and to remotely turn on the microphone and eavesdrop on the background sounds.

Re: California “Kill Switch” Bill Could Be Used to Disrupt Protests

#13

Post by mikeash »

lukifer wrote: post #8
kabdib wrote: post #3

Won't kill non-phone devices. Those aren't as numerous, and maybe not as real-time, but they're very difficult to shut down.

The problem is, how many people actually carry non-phone devices? There are a small handful of folks who carry around SLRs or iPod with cameras, but not many. (Since Google glass is paired with a phone, I'm guessing it would be bricked as well.) I'm also curious if "Airplane Mode" defends against shutdown. While common sense says it should, it's an easy loophole for the thieves who are (ostensibly) the purpose of the…

The resale value of a phone that can never be taken out of Airplane Mode is going to be pretty bad, especially if it's "will instantly brick when you touch the setting", so it doesn't seem like much of a loophole for the anti-theft goal.

Re: California “Kill Switch” Bill Could Be Used to Disrupt Protests

#14

Post by TheBiv »

Someone1234 wrote: post #12
jeffrey8chang wrote: post #5

There's just too many backdoors in smart phones. That's why I choose to use standalone hardware that can work with any phone for my voice encryption project: http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/31/jackpair/

I don't think I see the relevance. This article isn't about spying on you, it is about disabling your phone remotely ("kill switch," etc). How does encrypting your voice before it enters your phone mitigate that? Plus if you're paranoid enough to use that then frankly you're too paranoid to own a cellphone at all. They can still use it to track your location and to remotely turn on the microphone and eavesdrop on the…

Commenter created that company he's linking to...there is no relevance to this article!

"JackPair: protect your voice phone calls from wiretapping by Jeffrey Chang & the AWIT team"

Re: California “Kill Switch” Bill Could Be Used to Disrupt Protests

#15

Post by mikeash »

tootie wrote: post #6

Also, cops in California will be issued guns that they may use to arbitrarily murders citizens.

Such things are used much less casually, though. There is immense public pressure not to misuse guns that isn't there for other stuff. Obviously guns are not immune to misuse, but it's not all that common. "Less lethal" weapons like tasers and batons and rubber bullets and tear gas get misused way more frequently, precisely because they're less harmful than a regular gun. It's likely that the same thing could apply to a cell phone kill switch.

Re: California “Kill Switch” Bill Could Be Used to Disrupt Protests

#16

Post by chenelson »

mikeash wrote: post #13
lukifer wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is, how many people actually carry non-phone devices? There are a small handful of folks who carry around SLRs or iPod with cameras, but not many. (Since Google glass is paired with a phone, I'm guessing it would be bricked as well.) I'm also curious if "Airplane Mode" defends against shutdown. While common sense says it should, it's an easy loophole for the thieves who are (ostensibly) the purpose of the…

The resale value of a phone that can never be taken out of Airplane Mode is going to be pretty bad, especially if it's "will instantly brick when you touch the setting", so it doesn't seem like much of a loophole for the anti-theft goal.

The loophole is handset exchange at the local retailer.

Re: California “Kill Switch” Bill Could Be Used to Disrupt Protests

#17

Post by pyre »

TheBiv wrote: post #14
Someone1234 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think I see the relevance. This article isn't about spying on you, it is about disabling your phone remotely ("kill switch," etc). How does encrypting your voice before it enters your phone mitigate that? Plus if you're paranoid enough to use that then frankly you're too paranoid to own a cellphone at all. They can still use it to track your location and to remotely turn on the microphone and eavesdrop on the…

Commenter created that company he's linking to...there is no relevance to this article! "JackPair: protect your voice phone calls from wiretapping by Jeffrey Chang & the AWIT team"

The commenter did mention that:

> my voice encryption project

Re: California “Kill Switch” Bill Could Be Used to Disrupt Protests

#20

Post by pyre »

mikeash wrote: post #15
tootie wrote: post #6

Also, cops in California will be issued guns that they may use to arbitrarily murders citizens.

Such things are used much less casually, though. There is immense public pressure not to misuse guns that isn't there for other stuff. Obviously guns are not immune to misuse, but it's not all that common. "Less lethal" weapons like tasers and batons and rubber bullets and tear gas get misused way more frequently, precisely because they're less harmful than a regular gun. It's likely that the same thing could apply t…

The argument will be that you don't "have a right" to cell service everywhere at anytime. "It's not like your service isn't restored after the protest."
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