In the 21st century, a smartphone is the main form
of communication between people. Across the globe, smartphones provide
opportunities to connect through free video and voice calling via social media
platforms including Skype, Messenger, FaceTime, WhatsApp and so many
more. But what if this wasn’t an option…
United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Morocco and China are
among some of nations to ban communication through Voice over IP (VoIP)
services. UAE has blocked VoIP services due to “national security reasons”
regarding licensing concerns. Additionally, the VoIP block is attributed to
reduced demand and potential loss of revenues for the sole telecommunication operators,
Du and Etisalat.
Being over 7000 miles away from my home in Dubai, I always have to
resort to speaking with my family for $0.99 a minute via AT&T!
However, ToTok (not to be confused with TikTok) was launched
in 2019 to provide a new “fast, free, and secure” messaging
and calling platform. Complying with UAE’s VoIP regulation requirements, ToTok
was downloaded by millions across UAE, becoming one of the top 25 free apps in
the region.
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| A free app in disguise |
ToTok surging popularity exemplifies its numerous benefits, but as
Phillip Brey, professor of philosophy at University
of Twente, mentions, “It’s easy to turn an artifact intended for good
into something unethical.” A recent New
York Times Article published in December 2019, brought to light the
“wonder” app’s true colors.
Technical analysis and computer security experts
highlighted that the firm that created ToTok, Breej Holding, is a front company
for DarkMatter, an Abu Dhabi-based government cyber intelligence
firm. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to guess that the UAE government is
exploiting ToTok's platform to track conversations, locations, and images of
people installing it. ToTok is one of many cases of a digital platform surreptitiously
operated for purposes of intelligence gathering.
Recent escalation in the digital arms race shows wealthy
governments pursing more efficient methods to spy on foreign adversaries, journalists,
critics and worst of all, civilians. Reflecting back to Brey, we can now see
how people were easily manipulated by the government through the positive appeal
of ToTok. This makes us question if we ever trust something that’s “too good to
be true?” The truth is
everyday billions of people free forgo matters of privacy for convenience of
using apps on their phones. Governments across the world operate massive
surveillance apparatus in the shadows, and we, “the consumer”, voluntarily
and unknowingly hand into the scheme.
By Ananya Sharma
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Ananya, I can see a lot of improvements from your original post. The picture you've put up now is definitely better since the earlier one wasn't that clear. I can see that you earlier referrenced Floridi and have now removed that and that's a great choice since Floridi referrence wasn't adding to your blog post. You've put certain things in bold which makes it easier to follow and also hyperlinking the new york times article is a great move. I definitely agree that governments controlling our calls and devices is a big ethical issue, but I always wonder who will challenge them?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think about what the public can do in this situation? Is it possible for us to stop the governments for doing this and if yes, how?