The US State Department is developing an application called “Panic Button” for the anti-government activists. A demonstrator will hit this button and the address book, call records and other information of mobile phone will be deleted when the device is confiscated. Subsequently the device will emit an “Alert Message” to inform the comrades about looming attacks.
The panic button is one of the new technologies the U.S. State Department is promoting to equip pro-democracy activists in countries ranging from the Middle East to China with the tools to fight back against repressive governments.
“We’ve been trying to keep below the radar on this, because a lot of the people we are working with are operating in very sensitive environments,” said Michael Posner, assistant U.S. secretary of state for human rights and labor.
“The fact is al Qaeda probably has their own way of gathering some of these technologies,” Posner said. “The goal here is to protect people who are, in a peaceful manner, working for human rights and working to have a more open debate.”
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