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Free Press: We Must Stop Apple Again.

Apple cult



Summary: Apple's tools of digital repression signal the need to resist

AN HOUR ago we called for another Nemesis to come after Apple's Hubris. It's gratifying to see we're not alone. Read the following message:








Subject: Steve Jobs Wants to Censor You From: "Josh Levy, FreePress.net" Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2011 18:28:09 +0000

[1]SavetheInternet.com [1][IMG]

[2]Act Now: Stop Apple's iPhone Kill Switch

Dear Larry,

Think you own your smartphone? Think again.

Apple wants to patent a kill switch technology that can detect when people are using their phone cameras and give corporations the power to shut them down.^1

Think that's bad? Imagine what would happen if this tool fell into the hands of repressive regimes. Thousands of people across the Middle East have used cellphone cameras to document government abuses.

This kind of technology would give tyrants the power to stem the flow of videos and crack down on protesters with impunity.

[3]Sign our letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs: Demand that Apple stop developing technology that harms democracy and free speech.

Apple says this new technology was designed to stop concertgoers from taking unofficial video at live events. But you can bet that governments and corporations will use it in other, more dangerous ways - to silence the voices of protesters, political opponents or anyone else they dislike.

As Steve Jobs obviously knows, smartphones have become extensions of ourselves. They are incredibly powerful tools for communication education, political expression, community organizing and just plain fun.

[4]Tell Steve Jobs that WE control our phones: Neither Apple nor anybody else can dictate what we photograph and film with them.

Earlier this year, researchers discovered that iPhones recorded your every move for the past year in a hidden but unprotected file.^2 The public was outraged, and Apple soon announced that it was updating its software to better protect users.

We must stop Apple again. This new camera-blocking technology is a pre-emptive strike against free speech. If activated, it would be immensely harmful to our rights to connect and communicate.

Please take action now to urge Steve Jobs to pull the plug on this censorship technology.

Thanks, Josh Levy Online Campaign Manager Free Press www.freepress.net

1. "Is Apple Launching a Pre-emptive Strike Against Free Speech?" Huffington Post, June 22, 2011: [5]http://act2.freepress.net/go/4692?akid=2596.9633377.I38UGX&t=1

2. "Got an iPhone or 3G iPad? Apple is recording your moves," O'Reilly Radar, April 20, 2011: [6]http://act2.freepress.net/go/4627?akid=2596.9633377.I38UGX&t=2

References

Visible links 1. http://act2.freepress.net/go/4626?akid=2596.9633377.I38UGX&t=3 2. http://act2.freepress.net/go/4626?ak_proof=1&akid=.9057871.z0WfPP&t=2&akid=2596.9633377.I38UGX&t=4 3. http://act2.freepress.net/go/4626?akid=2596.9633377.I38UGX&t=5 4. http://act2.freepress.net/go/4626?akid=2596.9633377.I38UGX&t=6 5. http://act2.freepress.net/go/4692?akid=2596.9633377.I38UGX&t=7 6. http://act2.freepress.net/go/4627?akid=2596.9633377.I38UGX&t=8





"The [...] message doesn't have a suggestion of *how* to "to urge Steve Jobs to pull the plug on this censorship technology," noted the reader who sent it to us. Any suggestions?

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