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UberPOP ban proposed in France as protests block airports
In response to taxi driver's protesting UberPOP by blocking major transportation routes in France, the country's interior minister proposed a nationwide ban on the service. Taxi drivers completely plugged up access to Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and Orly airports, prompting officials to urge CDG travelers to use train service instead. Cab drivers are angry over unfair competition from the US-based service's unlicensed drivers, blocking not only airport access roads, but train hubs and other major thoroughfares as well. The protests have turned violent in some cases, with riot police being called in to handle demonstrators who were burning tires, overturning vehicles and fighting with other drivers. Uber faces backlash in nearly every European country it enters, drawing the ire of UK taxi drivers and recently agreeing to pay licensing fees in Germany to stay in business.
Protesters want Facebook to remove 'fake name' reporting tool
Drag queens, Native Americans, victims of abuse and anyone who'd rather not use their real names on social media aren't done waging war against Facebook's real name policy. Around 50 to 100 protesters have shown up at Facebook's Menlo Park headquarters on Monday for the #MyNameIs protest. They carried signs that read "My Name Is My Business," "Facebook exposed me to my abuser" and "Your apology was a lie," among many others. If you recall, someone with a vendetta against drag queens went on a reporting spree last year to get them all banned. People have been reporting Native American users, too, because their names tend to incorporate elements of nature, animals or their own features that make them sound fake. Blogger Dana Lone Hill was one of the people affected, as well as someone named Lance Browneyes from South Dakota.
Hawaii's Thirty Meter Telescope could force others to close
For one to rise, others must fall. Hawaii's governor David Ige has given his blessing to the controversial Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) that scientists want to build on the Mauna Kea mountain. But there's a catch -- in return, he wants "at least 25 percent" of the existing telescopes to be torn down. At the moment, there are 13 telescopes on the mountainside and only one is scheduled to be dismantled. Under Ige's new proposals, one facility would need to enter the decommissioning process this year, and the remainder in his 25 percent quota would need to be gone before the TMT is operational in the mid-2020s.
Holograms replace people in Spanish protests
Spain's imminent Citizen Safety Law isn't exactly protester-friendly -- you can face stiff fines just for daring to disobey police peacefully, let alone holding a protest without telling the government. The activists of Hologramas por la Libertad have found a clever workaround for that, however. As the name suggests, they're using holographic protesters to challenge the new legal restrictions. People worldwide were invited to record video (or text and voice, if they preferred) that would be converted into holograms marching in front of the Spanish Parliament. If you aren't allowed to protest in person, the movement argues, you can still protest as an optical illusion.
Bangladesh blocks mobile messaging apps to thwart protests
Countries are occasionally tempted to block mobile messaging apps when protests or riots flare up, and Bangladesh just gave in to that urge. The nation has blocked two popular services, Tango and Viber, on the grounds that anti-government protesters (some of whom have turned violent) are using these chat clients to coordinate their activities. Officials say the bans will last "for the time being," which suggests that locals shouldn't get their hopes up for a reprieve -- it might not let up unless the demonstrations come to an end.
DVDs of 'The Interview' will be airdropped on North Korea
Sony's once-forbidden The Interview is now seemingly ubiquitous, but there's one place where you can't get it: North Korea, the country that inspired the movie (and allegedly, the hacking campaign) in the first place. If defector and activist Park Sang-hak has his way, though, North Koreans will see that movie whether or not their government approves. Park plans to use balloons to airdrop 100,000 copies of the comedy (both on DVD and USB drives) in the country starting in late January. In theory, North Koreans will have second thoughts about Kim Jong-un's rule once they see him as less than perfect -- and if you've seen the movie, you know how eagerly it knocks Kim off his pedestal.
Artist pays you to read the news hidden behind online paywalls
Don't like that many of the big, traditional news outlets hide the online editions of their stories behind paywalls? Neither does artist Paolo Cirio, who designed Daily Paywall as a protest against what he sees as an attempt to limit your access to information. The website uses scripting to automatically scoop up articles from The Economist, Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal, making the stories available to anyone who visits. Moreover, Cirio has set up a crowdfunded money pool that pays you to read -- answer a quiz about the story you just finished and you'll get a dollar.
Facebook and Twitter say 2014 was about protests and the World Cup
The past year was a blur if you're a social networking maven, but don't worry -- both Facebook and Twitter are offering retrospectives that will help you remember how 2014 went down. Despite the differences between the two services, people on either were buzzing about many of the same things. Protests defined the year for many, whether it was about police violence in the US or the fight for democracy in Hong Kong. Sports played a big role, too, with the World Cup and the winter Olympics often dominating the conversation.
Hungary's internet tax axed after public protests
Barely a week after it was first proposed, Hungary's internet tax looks to be dead in the water. Tens of thousands of Hungarians took to the streets last weekend to protest the tax, which would have seen internet use charged per gigabyte transferred. The plan was expected to rake in around $80 million per year, mostly from companies, but following the protests Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said it "cannot be introduced in its current form," explaining that it was intended as a "telecommunications tax," but was perceived as an "internet tax." Instead, the Hungarian government will enter a period of "national consultation" for "a long time" to rework the proposal to the public's liking. With their goals achieved, it's unlikely protesters will return to the streets this weekend. Victory parade, anyone? [Image Credit: Laszlo Beliczay MTI / AP Photo]
WoW Archivist: Class protests and the Million Gnome March
WoW Archivist is a biweekly column by WoW Insider's Scott Andrews, who explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? It first appeared on our sister site on October 8th, 2014, and is included here by permission. Betas make players nervous about their class. It happens every time. Blizzard makes changes, often drastically, and for better or worse some people hate the changes. I've been keeping my eye on the beta class forums since the Warlords beta began, and I've seen a lot of unhappiness this time around. The ability pruning that was one of Blizzard's major design goals for classes this year has removed depth from rotations, taken away both utility and cosmetic options, and in some cases radically altered or deleted abilities that players enjoyed. Beta testers have voiced strong opposition to many of the changes. In 10 years, I haven't seen players this up in arms about class issues since classic WoW -- an era when many specs and mechanics were simply broken in PvE, PvP, or both. This past Friday, something happened that I believed would never again happen in WoW: an in-game class protest. With much more open lines of communication from developers to players in recent years, I thought the game had matured beyond the point that such things would ever be necessary. But here we are, almost 10 years after the most famous class protest in WoW's history, and players once again felt the need to gather in Azeroth to voice their complaints.
New spyware targets Hong Kong protesters' phones
Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters have more to worry about than they thought -- someone is gunning after their phones, too. Lacoon Mobile Security says it has detected new spyware, Xsser, that tries to trick WhatsApp users on Android and iOS by posing as a coordination tool for the Occupy Central movement. Anyone who falls for the ploy grants access to virtually all of their sensitive info, including contacts, call logs and instant messaging archives. The code is unusually sophisticated, to boot; it's a rare instance of a cross-platform mobile attack, and it updates itself over time.
Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests spur growth for secure messaging apps
Social media and civil unrest have long gone hand-in-hand, from coordinating revolution during the Arab Spring to repressing corruption in Turkey. Amid pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, locals have taken to the location-based messaging app FireChat to communicate with each other. 100,000 local users signed into the off-the-grid messaging app for the first time last weekend after a student activist recommended the app for communication should authorities switch off cellular networks. The app creates a mesh network between nearby users using WiFi, cellular data, or Bluetooth, allowing them to communicate with people even when strict firewalls are in place. For now, it looks as though we're a long way away from the heavy-handed tactics of other governments, but FireChat's sudden popularity shows locals are keen to stay one step ahead when it comes to communication.
China blocks Instagram in the wake of Hong Kong democracy protests
China has a history of tightening its censorship of internet services during times of political upheaval, and that's unfortunately happening again with massive pro-democracy protests underway in Hong Kong. Both monitoring sites and on-the-ground observers report that the country has blocked access to Instagram on the mainland, most likely to prevent images of the demonstrations from spreading beyond Hong Kong (where Instagram is still working). It's potentially a big blow to free speech, as the photo sharing service was one of the few foreign social networks that operated unfettered in the area. We've reached out to Instagram for more details, but it's safe to presume that China won't lift its restrictions so long as the protests continue -- and it won't be surprising if this ultimately proves to be a permanent ban. [Image credit: Alex Ogle/AFP/Getty Images]
What you need to know about social media activism
Protests in the Middle East, known as "The Arab Spring," echoed around the world. On Friday, December 17, 2010, a fruit vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi covered himself in flammable liquid and lit a match. His body was quickly engulfed in flames and, despite attempts to save his life, Bouazizi died on January 4th, 2011. He was 26 years old. Like how Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức's self-immolation in Saigon nearly 50 years earlier represented the frustration of many Vietnamese, Bouazizi's action became symbolic of a much larger frustration in Tunisian society. What happened next, however, was a product of modern times: Word spread of Bouazizi's action through social networks, with Facebook specifically becoming a flashpoint for protest organizations across the country. By the time Tunisia's former leader, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, resigned and fled the country in mid-January 2011, over a fifth of Tunisia's population was on Facebook.
Korean protester spreads democracy's message by balloon and flashdrive
As funny as the idea of a video game starring Kim Jong Un might be, how North Korea treats its people isn't exactly a laughing matter. As a child of officials who were part of the North Korea's Workers Party, Park Sang Hak didn't have much to worry about. His family was part of the country's elite and wondering where their next meal would come from wasn't part of daily routine. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, however, when Hak saw the government starving its people he was overcome with guilt, and he defected to South Korea. As a direct result, two of Hak's uncles were arrested as political criminals by North Korea's State Security Department and executed as political enemies. He responded by putting a technological spin on South's previous form of protest: sending propaganda pamphlets north by balloon. His version entailed floating DVDs and USB flash drives containing, among other things, videos about Samsung and Hyundai -- evidence of the south's economic prosperity under democracy.
Anonymous' radio-based networking keeps protesters off the grid
Despite being an internet activist group, Anonymous knows the value of avoiding traditional communication; it's sometimes the only way for dissidents to elude surveillance and service disruptions. Accordingly, the group has just unveiled AirChat, a networking system that uses any available radio connection to share data between PCs. Nearly all of its infrastructure is based on encrypted data packets -- you need encryption keys to get a spot on the network and receive any private information, making it virtually impossible to fake an address. Users can share internet access if they get it, and there's support for both proxy servers and Tor routing to anonymize any online activity.
Twitter claims Venezuela is blocking its images to stifle protests
Venezuela's government has been trying to silence protests over shortages of basic goods, and that crackdown appears to be extending into the digital realm as well. A Twitter spokesperson tells Engadget and Bloomberg that pictures on its social network are "currently blocked" for at least some users. The country hasn't confirmed anything, but President Nicolas Maduro has already taken a TV station off the air after it showed unflattering protest footage (pictured here); this may be just a continuation of his policy. Whatever is taking place, Twitter is encouraging Venezuelans to sign up for text message updates to keep the news flowing. And locals can take comfort in knowing that government attempts to censor online content aren't always effective at crushing dissent -- if there's enough demand for political change, it can happen. [Image credit: Eduardo Massieu / NTN24, Twitter]
Turbine addresses DDO True Heart controversy
As the community protest over Dungeons & Dragons Online's True Heart controversy pushes past its third day, Turbine responded with a forum post regarding the key issue. The studio said that due to testing and feedback, it will be reducing the cost of the True Hearts of Wood planned for Issue 20 that are at the core of the sit-in protest. "The prices on Lamannia are not final," Senior Producer Erik Boyer wrote. "Inspired by the Lamannia feedback, the Heroic Heart of Wood will be greatly reduced from the price displayed in the bartershop today. We'll be looking at your additional feedback and how players play through sagas, and adjust the costs appropriately. We expect the average player to, upon reaching the minimum level requirement, spend additional hours to obtain a Heart of Wood –- but never hundreds of hours. Boyer also said that the Twelve barter NPC will continue to sell Hearts of Wood in Issue 20. Players who were upset at the original changes to the acquisition of the item have been staging an "Occupy Stormreach" protest on one of the city's bridges. [Thanks to Robert for the tip!]
Dungeons and Dragons Online players protest True Heart changes
A number of Dungeons and Dragons Online players are currently in the midst of an in-game sit-in spurred by Turbine's plan to remove the primary method for acquiring True Hearts of Wood, a necessary item for the game's True Reincarnation skill. The hearts, available via trade-ins of Tokens of the Twelve earned by dungeon running and other tasks, will require several times more tokens from epic-level sagas after DDO Update 20 goes live. In addition to the increase, the tokens are now character-bound, instead of account-bound, requiring even more farming. The change has stirred unrest in the Dungeons and Dragons Online community, resulting in high-profile, multi-page forum threads along with the in-game sit-in that has now lasted for over 24 hours. The sit-in is currently focused on the Wayfinder server; dozens of players now occupy the city of Stormreach under the guild tag "Update Twenty Killed Me." According to the DDO forum's dev tracker, no Turbine employee has offered a response to any of the protest threads. [Thanks to Robert for the tip!] [ Editor: Changed wording to clarify token issue.]
Sudanese protesters use crowdmapping to get around internet shutdowns
Like past regimes, Sudan's government is trying to silence protests by periodically shutting off internet access. Activists have found a way to keep everyone informed, however, by launching the Abena Crowd Map. The tool sends SMS-based reports of demonstrations and other events to a crowdmapping platform where contributors verify, locate and post stories. Observers can both filter the report stream and get alerts when incidents take place within a given area. The map won't always help protesters on the ground, but it will share their ordeal with the outside world -- and prevent Sudan's rulers from controlling the narrative.
