A Chat With Zavilia, a Tool For Identifying Rioters

HansonMB writes with an interview in Motherboard.tv. From the article: "Social media isn't just great for starting 'social unrest,' it's proving to be quite helpful for quashing it too. Not long after the bricks began to fly in London's latest kerfuffle, locals angry over raging mobs scrambled to assist the police in their attempt to identify street-fighters and free-for-all hooligans ... Now with more than 1,000 people charged over the chaos, a few citizen groups continue to provide web-based rioter identification platforms, in hopes of being good subjects, maintaining the country's pursuit of order, and keeping their neighborhoods safe."

Re:Double edged sword

[QuasiSteve]

That sword is only double-edged if you believe 'the crowd' would be keen on identifying legitimate protesters as much as they are in identifying rioters.

Those who would do so would likely still do so if the police simply put up the same picture on their own website.

This platform is really no different from any other in which individuals are attempted to be identified. Think of the effort to identify the girl who stomped on a kitten, or the guys throwing a dog off of a bridge, etc. It's just on a much larger scale because this time it's rioters - of which there were hundreds.

Something that bothers me, however, is the apparent aim at monetization. Quoth the article:

Q. What other users do you envision for this kind of technology?

A. We do envisage much greater uses for Zavilia. However, as these are currently copyright pending, we cannot disclose any further details.

Freedom of speech

[CadentOrange]

If you are free to use social media to organise riots, I am just as free to use the same social media to identify the idiots who rampaged through my neighbourhood. Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences.

Useless interview

[silanea]

[...] The copyrights have been made on the Zavilia brand name, principle, and technologies. [...]

[...] Although we cannot comment on exact figures, we can confirm the website peaked at over 100,000 unique visitors. [...]

[...] We have made contact with the authorities regarding several identifications, although we cannot disclose the exact figure due to security reasons. [...]

[...] entire documents detailing why Zavilia is “unethical” and “encourages vigilantism.” These remarks are however unfounded, and no damage has been done. [...]

[...] We do envisage much greater uses for Zavilia. However, as these are currently copyright pending, we cannot disclose any further details. [...]

Is it just me or is this interview nothing but a stream of useless PR crap? Our platform is so super-secret, 'cause it's copyrighted, y'know, and it does mighty good, but canna tell ya, 'cause it's so super-secret. Yeah, right. Colour me unimpressed.