Best Handset For Freedom?

June 20, 2009 · Print This Article

Father Thomas Dowd writes “The images we are seeing of Iran are being captured on cell phones and the text is being twittered by SMS. Still, the government has some control by the networks, and we are all familiar with fears of wiretap technologies to spy on users. whether the cell phone is the new tool of freedom, what would the best ‘freedom handset’ contain? I’m thinking of a device

with an open OS, where each phone could be a router for encrypted messages passed through Bluetooth/WiFi/whatever, thereby totally bypassing physical infrastructures when essential. Of course, some sort of plausible deniability encryption a la Truecrypt would plus be good, in case the secret police catch you with your phone. What else might we need?”