Activism With Mobile Phones

Just as mobile phones are more prevalent in the world than computers, in many countries they are also more important in the activities of political activists. There’s a draft paper on the topic World Changing, which gives a good overview of the ways mobile phones have been used in developing countries. The technology allows people to criticise their government while remaining anonymous to avoid retribution, but I think the most interesting use is as a network to organize protests. The fact that SMS can be used to organize protests large enough to remove a corrupt government indicates the social nature of mobiles and the viral power they provide. It bodes well for efforts to get mobile communities going — albeit for far less serious reasons.
Anonymous Payments: Phones can also be used to transfer funds in several ways (even without a mobile payment system there are ways to do it) leading to the suggestion that groups can use the technology to fundraise. Since it is anonymous, that has also attracted the attention of governments. American Thinker arguing that mobile payments are used to fund terrorism, and should be more tightly controlled, mainly through government surveillance. As mobile technology becomes more prevalent and more powerful, it’s going to garner a lot more attention from people not involved in the industry.

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