Taiwan lockdown: cops visited, threatened man whose phone ran out of batteries

[beschizza]

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/03/25/taiwan-lockdown-cops-visited.html

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[Papasan]

[James_Mason]

I’m taking entries for the most Orwellian name of the bill that will “fix” everything. Something that involves “Homeland Security” and “Patriot” and “Jesus”…

[Papasan]

[Ceran_Swicegood]

So, if you go for a walk, leave the phone at home.

[James_Mason]

You must be over 30

(letting your phone get more than 3 feet from you? AS IF!)

[fredtal]

Hopefully the cops brought some batteries.

[anon62122146]

Yeah. I mean, I get enforcing a quarantine for foreign arrivals. We did that, too, by putting people at risk on military bases. The part I don’t get is: this seems like a disproportionate response considering that he could have just left the phone at home and gone anywhere.

[stephen_schenck]

threatened man

This doesn’t sound like a threat to me: “A text was sent notifying that the government had lost track of me, and warned me of potential arrest if I had broken quarantine.”

[anothernewbbaccount]

@anon62122146

considering that he could have just left the phone at home and gone anywhere.

Next step - automatic monitoring to see if your phone has been stationary for more than 5 minutes. You have to move it from room to room to prove you are still there.

Following step - Instructables members post umpteen rubber band- and Arduino-powered gizmos for moving your phone 5 metres in your home at 4 minute intervals.

Final step - you have to post a 20 second video of yourself every 10 minutes and an AI system is in place to check it is you. Sleep is banned.

[FGD135]

The
Federal Instant Act Securing Coronavirus Obliteration

[cannibalpeas]

Really? I’m having trouble reading that as anything but.

[FloridaManJefe]

Banjo-accordion duet is the fatal one - two knockout blow!
MOAR COWBELL!

[bbreader]

Next gen phone. Never worry about losing your phone, running out of power, or wandering out of the velvet embrace of your government:

[Pensketch]

@beschizza

A thought to consider: the more the current administration in the U.S. bungles it, the more reasonable it will seem to propose draconian, unconstitutional measures to prevent disaster.

Something I would have said “nah” to a decade ago, now just feels right.

[byron_p]

The President’s Analyst is a brilliant, if rather dated movie that was far ahead of it’s time. For some strange reason, Dad took me to see it when it came out…

[NoThisIsPatrick]

The FBI is promoting an at-home exercise app that also tracks your phone's...

[iquitos46]

@fredtal

Hopefully the cops brought some batteries.

They were battering the his door does that count?

[RacerExTex]

In USA#1 they’d bring the assault and battery!

[Shuck]

A thought to consider: the more the current administration in the U.S. bungles it, the more reasonable it will seem to propose draconian, unconstitutional measures to prevent disaster.

The DOJ already talked about their desire to suspend constitutional rights during the coronavirus outbreak. This administration won’t use the powers they have to deal with the issue, but they’re looking at this as an excuse to wildly expand them. It doesn’t take an imagination to see how this is going to play out at things actually get bad.