California Kill Switch to Disrupt Protesters; Pentagon Technology to Track, Kill Activists

California “Kill Switch” Bill Could Be Used To Disrupt Protests. This week the California legislature passed a bill that requires all smartphones to include a “kill switch” that can remotely render the device inoperable. Although created to deter smartphone theft, this kill switch mandate could actually become a nefarious tool co-opted by government to suppress protests. This law allows governments to disrupt communications under certain guidelines with judicial authorization, but also includes an “emergency” exception that requires no independent approval.

Pentagon Funds New Data-Mining Tools To Track And Kill Activists. The DoD is funding a multimillion dollar university research program to develop tools to track political radicalism among activist groups around the world. Intelligence experts confirm that the tools are designed to identify potential terrorism suspects that could face surveillance, no-fly injunctions or being targeted for extrajudicial assassination via the CIA’s “kill lists.” Flaws in the program are likely to facilitate criminalization of political dissent and targeting of innocent civilians in the U.S., UK and Europe.