User:Azertygod/2035 Protests
| 2035 Calypso Protests | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Oct 9th Protest in Chicago, IL | |
| Date |
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| Location |
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| Caused by |
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| Goals |
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| Methods | Diverse (see tactics and methods) |
| Concessions |
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| Lead figures | |
Protesters President Odin Munin | |
| Casualties | |
| Arrested | 231 (as of 10 December 2035) |
The 2035 Calypso protests, also known as the Zephaniah File Protests are ongoing series of protests centered in Washington, DC and major metropolitan areas in the United States. The Zephaniah Files were leaked documents from a joint program of the National Security Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the the Social Security Administration. These files detailed surveillance programs run by the NSA that used the Calypso smart-wear device to track biometrics and location of users. As the protests progressed, protesters have demanded a cessation of the tracking program, retraction of Executive Order 42307 authorizing the program, retraction of the characterization of the protests as riots, and withdrawal of Senate Bill 24, which would have expanded the use of the Calypso bracelet in some hospitals and schools.
The first major protest on October 5th, three days after NSA analyst Victor Zephaniah leaked the files, occurred concurrently in over 150 cities in the U.S and involved between 2,391,220 and 3,312,810 protesters. With no immediate response from Congress or the White House, protests have continued. Protests have turned to rioting in some cities, especially Seattle, WA; Washington, D.C; San Francisco, CA; Chicago, IL; and Houston, TX. Rioting has necessitated the use of rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannons, and combat drones. As peacekeeping forces have maintained order, some protesters and rioters have criticized "excessive force" employed by police.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay on Executive order 42307 on October 15th. The Senate has removed the bill from the Calendar, preventing it from reaching the floor, but the similar House Bill 601 had already been discharged from committee. Voting on the bill has been pushed back. On November 5th, following protests that disrupted (non-federal) elections, President Odin Munin declared a State of Emergency in Washington D.C. Calypso Technologies has suspended sale of their flagship bracelet and apologized for data-sharing, noting that "Calypso Technologies has always been committed to following all rules and regulations of countries, and will continue to do so".
The protests have been largely described as "leaderless" and protesters have used various intimidation tactics to pressure the government. Rioters who call themselves "protesters" have used the protests to promote social unrest, commit crime, and destabilize projects of the U.S government.
Background[edit]
Calypso Device[edit]
The Calypso is a wearable smart device that uses a permanently installed retinal projector and bracelet processor to provide access to the Internet and internet services like maps, product suggestions, media, and messaging. It can also take pictures that are uniquely "fingerprinted" with the retinal imperfections of the installed eye. It can record location, heart rate, blood oxygen levels, activity levels, and presence of certain drugs (Platinum+ model). Data is encrypted and only shared with the user and Calypso programs that provide lifestyle suggestions.
Calypso Technologies was founded in 2031 after AWS acquired Ogygia Technologies, and spun it off into its own company. Calypso runs on the Amazon Sidewalk protocol to transmit location and lifestyle suggestions, helping users be more productive and happy in their everyday life. The Calypso has been compared to the first iPhone in its disruption of a stale smartphone/watch market for something completely new, and has quickly become the second most popular smart device in the U.S., after a smartphone.
Zephaniah Leak
Victor Zephaniah was a NSA analyst in Project Hugin, a joint NSA, HHS, and SSA program created by President Munin in 2032. Project Hugin is a project to increase resolution of health and social systems data to improve the lives of all citizens. It also allows law enforcement to better link illegal internet activities to real people and "root out the child predators hiding in the shadows of the Internet, or find and arrest violent criminals who are targeting our neighborhoods"[1]. Project Hugin data collection included, but was not limited to, constant location tracking (through low energy Sidewalk protocol), web searches, non-encrypted personnel communications (encrypted communications would only be accessed on persons of interest), bio metric data like heart rate, blood glucose and oxygen levels, and activity levels.
Zephaniah began collecting documents detailing Project Hugin in August of 2035, and began leaking documents to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in September. By the end of September, Zephaniah had become dissatisfied with slow pace of analysis, and then released all of the collected documents through Wikileaks on October 2nd.
Congressional Bills[edit]
Senate Bill 24 and House Bill 601 are related bills that would make Calypso mandatory for most school children and Medicaid/Medicare recipients. Proponents of the previously uncontroversial bills point for the need to foreclose use of wearable smart devices for cheating in schools. Calypso sells an administrative suite that allows schools and business to control exactly what the device is displaying on the retina and what websites the device will access at all times. As a Medicaid/Medicare supplement, it can track drug use and biometrics for public health data, remind seniors to take medicines, and intervene in drug abuse cases.
Objectives[edit]
While protesters were initially just expressing frustration, the movement has coalesced around 4 key demands.
- Cessation of the tracking program (Project Hugin)
- Retraction of Executive Order 42307 authorizing the program
- Retraction of the characterization of the protests as riots
- Withdrawal of Senate Bill 24 and House Bill 601
Rioters, while they may support the above demands in name, mostly seek to disrupt civil life, commit crime, and destabilize legitimate and legal actions by the U.S. government. Most actions since October 15th have been by rioters, not protesters.
History[edit]
Early stages[edit]
The first protests started at the White House in the evening of October 2nd, when several hundred peaceful protesters gathered with signs to picket the fence. Some number of protesters remained overnight on the National Mall. The American Civil Liberties Union announced a plan for a October 5th multi-city protest the morning after the leak. Several suits, later consolidated into People v. Munin, were filed in the 9th Circuit Court on the morning of October 3rd. By the end of the 3rd, the protests had grown to encompass much of the National mall, and police were deployed with crowd control gear to prevent violence. Because of police concerns over violence directed at news media, camera crews were not allowed onto the mall. Videos taken by protesters on the Mall have been deemed "False" deepfakes by Politifact, and other fact checking organizations, though Snopes rated many of the videos as "Mostly True".
The October 5th multi-city protests took place in over 150 cities and metropolitan areas. Police counts of protesters found between 2,391,220 and 3,312,810 people participated. Protests were mostly peaceful, though signs of opportunistic rioters taking advantage of the unrest began to emerge into the night. President Munin condemned the violence, saying that "violent acts are an extreme challenge to the rule of law and seriously undermined our peace and stability. It is totally intolerable."[2] Protests and rioting also occurred the next week on Oct 12th and 13th, and police continued to respond quickly to quell violence. Reporters for the Washington Post and HuffPost Wesley Lowry and Ryan Reilly who were uploading stories in a Starbucks were arrested by police in Atlanta during a routine clearing of surrounding shops for suspected rioters. Some protesters accused law enforcement of use of excessive force on the 5th and demanded investigations into policing tactics.
Project Hugin suspension and further protests[edit]
On October 15th, the 9th Circuit Court issued a stay on Project Hugin and the Executive order authorizing it; Solicitor General Piter De Vries immediately appealed to the Supreme Court. President Munin expressed regret that the 9th Circuit Court was "eroding law enforcement’s ability to quickly obtain valuable information that may be used to identity and save victims, reveal evidence to convict perpetrators, or exonerate the innocent."[1]
Even after their main demand had been met, protesters continued to agitate, calling on the President to circumvent the justice system and suspend Project Hugin and Executive order 42307 immediately instead of waiting for a judgement from the Supreme Court. On October 19th, protests groups organized a "March On City Hall", concurrent protests across the U.S that where protesters approached and demonstrated outside of City Halls. In Chicago, unlawful organization of demonstrators in Millennium Park necessitated the use of crowd control measures. As night fell, protesters in Chicago started attacking police lines with Molotov Cocktails and bricks, and police used rubber bullets to disperse rioters, and there were violent attacks on police in New York City Subway stations. Police were also forced by rioters to enforce the law in Atlanta, GA; Seattle, WA, Mountain View, CA; among other places.
Election Day riots and recent action[edit]
On November 5th, an off-year election, rioters disrupted public life across the U.S. Rioters vandalized the Metro-Transit system in Minnesota and the T transit system in Boston, both of which had partnerships with Calypso to allow the bracelet to work as a fare card. Protesters in New York barricaded all of the pedestrian entries to Central Park, and many nominally peaceful protests devolved into violence across the U.S. President Munin released a statement encouraging state governors to declare martial law as required in their cities and states, and declared a state of emergency in Washington, DC. The President further condemned rioters, saying that "Given these deliberate, coordinated and intensifying violent attacks on lives and property in D.C, I am directing the National Guard to deploy to return peace and order to this community.”[3] The President further condemned actions on Election day as "attempting to destroy the democratic underpinnings of our country.
A total of 37 State governors have declared martial law for varying lengths of time as of December 3rd (see: List of U.S. States under martial law). Protesters have criticized such declarations, noting that violence has been worse in states under martial law compared to those that have not taken that step.
Tactics and methods[edit]
Protestors have adopted several methods to escalate disruptive effects. They have used laser pointers and bricks to destroy or decommission red light cameras and security cameras on public roads. In addition, protesters adopted the black bloc method. They wore mostly black face masks to protect their identities and have subsequently worn helmets and respirators to further protect themselves. Waze, the traffic mapping app, has been used in many cities to mark where police forces are congregating or arresting[4].
There are mainly two informal groups of protesters: the peaceful, rational and non-violent protesters and the rioters. The "peaceful group" chanted slogans during marches and has organized site-ins and peaceful protests. Their goals are largely aligned with the four demands already listed. On the other hand, rioters have used the protests as opportunities to commit crimes like looting, vandalism, and destruction of government property. Nonetheless, despite difference in methods, both groups have refrained from denouncing or criticizing the other; some protest groups go so far as to say that there are no rioters, just protesters[5].
Starting in late October, protesters and rioters have escalated their use of violence. Protesters have confronted the police by reportedly throwing bricks, petrol bombs, corrosive liquid and other projectiles at police. As a result of clashes, there have been multiple reports of police injuries and assault of officers throughout the protests. Protesters have also occasionally directed violence towards alleged undercover officers acting suspiciously, some of which were accused of inciting the protesters to commit violent acts.
Reactions[edit]
Calypso Technologies[edit]
CEO of Calypso Technologies Carrie Lam has criticized protesters for not understanding the degree to which Project Hugin can improve health and data services. The biometric data that the Calypso Bracelet collects has many applications for the individual managing their own health, as Calypso's data is comprehensive and omnipresent in that it can always be displayed on your retinal projector. For populations, large data collection gives opportunities for new public health initiatives that can improve health for disadvantaged groups. Lam was been quoted in 2019, when she was a junior data analyst at AWS, as saying that "I think that the better we have entity resolution, the less of a surveillance state we’ll have."[6]
Amazon[edit]
Amazon has denied accusations that Calypso Technologies was incorporated as a second company to deflect legal challenges that the Calypso and Project Hugin might face from the Amazon brand. Amazon retains a 90% controlling interest in Calypso Technologies and has made no announcement of a divestment.[7][8][9]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Going Dark". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- ^ Yu, Verna (2 July 2019). "China says Hong Kong violence 'totally intolerable'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ "National Guard Deployed After Chaotic, Violent Night in Ferguson". Intelligencer. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ "HKmap.live 全港即時地圖 - Hong Kong Live Map". HKmap.live 全港即時地圖 - Hong Kong Live Map (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ Balint, Becca. "Becca Balint: Hong Kong protests: 'Do not split!'". The Brattleboro Reformer. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ Funk, McKenzie (2 October 2019). "How ICE Picks Its Targets in the Surveillance Age". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ "Ferguson unrest", Wikipedia, 28 November 2019, retrieved 20 December 2019
- ^ "2019 Hong Kong protests", Wikipedia, 19 December 2019, retrieved 20 December 2019
- ^ "Thirty Meter Telescope protests", Wikipedia, 8 December 2019, retrieved 20 December 2019
