Tech and the Police State
Uncanny Valley | WIRED
WIRED
4.1 • 575 Ratings
🗓️ 5 June 2020
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Across the world, millions of people have gathered to protest police brutality and systemic racism after an officer in Minneapolis killed George Floyd, an unarmed black man. Amid the outpouring of grief and support, tech companies like Google, Amazon, and Reddit have issued statements backing protestors and the Black Lives Matter movement. But these same companies also provide platforms and services that prop up communities of hate and help law enforcement disproportionately track and convict people of color.
This week on Gadget Lab, a conversation with WIRED senior writers Sidney Fussell and Lily Hay Newman about hypocrisy in tech, police surveillance, and how to safely exercise your right to protest.
Show Notes:
Read Sidney’s story about tech companies’ relationships with law enforcement here. Read Lily and Andy Greenberg’s tips for how to protect yourself from surveillance while protesting here. Read Lauren Goode and Louryn Strampe’s story about what to bring and what to avoid at a demonstration here. Follow all of WIRED’s protest coverage here.
Recommendations:
Sidney recommends the documentary LA 92 about the aftermath of the Rodney King killing. Lily recommends Mission Darkness Faraday bags from MOS Equipment. Lauren recommends this Google doc of anti-racism resources. Mike recommends donating to Campaign Zero and Grassroots Law Project.
Sidney Fussell can be found on Twitter @sidneyfussell. Lily Hay Newman is @lilyhnewman. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our executive producer is Alex Kapelman (@alexkapelman). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.
If you have feedback about the show, or just want to enter to win a $50 gift card, take our brief listener survey here.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, everyone. Welcome to Gadget Lab. I'm Michael Colori, a senior editor at Wired, and I am joined remotely by my co-host, Wired senior writer Lauren Good. |
| 0:16.5 | Hey, Mike. I'm here at home, as I have been for the past several weeks, taping this podcast, |
| 0:22.3 | but this is the week that lots of people left to their homes and went out into the streets, |
| 0:28.1 | and we're going to talk about that on this week's podcast. That's right. We are also joined this |
| 0:33.0 | week by Wired Senior Writer, Sidney Fusel. Hi, Sydney. Hey, guys. Thanks for having me on. |
| 0:38.2 | Of course. Thanks for coming back. As Lauren mentioned, it has been a very momentous and emotional week |
| 0:44.0 | across the country and around the world. Millions of people have gathered to protest police brutality |
| 0:49.5 | after a viral video showed an officer in Minneapolis killing George Floyd, an unarmed black man. |
| 0:56.5 | The sheer scale of the demonstrations and the increasingly violent police response have dominated |
| 1:02.3 | the national conversation. Police departments have also been scrutinized for their use of |
| 1:06.8 | enhanced surveillance technology, which is often provided by tech companies like Amazon and Google. |
| 1:12.1 | While these companies make statements condemning systemic racism and violence, they've also provided |
| 1:16.9 | platforms and tools that worsen inequality. On the second half of the show, Wired senior writer |
| 1:23.0 | Lily Hay Newman will be joining us to talk about how protesters can protect themselves |
| 1:26.8 | from these digital surveillance methods. But first, let's get into some of the methods themselves. |
| 1:33.0 | Sydney, you wrote a story for Wired this week about text ties to law enforcement. Tell us more. |
| 1:38.8 | Yeah, so I was definitely one of those people who was sort of shocked and stunned and horrified by what I was seeing. |
| 1:45.2 | And at first I had that sort of like initial very good rush of, oh, it's so good to see all these companies speaking out for their employees, for the people who use their products, for the people who are affected. |
| 1:55.6 | There was also at the same time a very big backlash where people were saying, well, it's great that companies like Amazon or Google are sort of stepping up and using their platforms to speak out in support |
| 2:05.4 | of the movement for Black Lives. |
| 2:06.7 | But at the same time, there's been a lot of criticism about the relationship between |
| 2:10.6 | big techs, Silicon Valley, these platforms and the police. |
... |
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