Bloggers in Myanmar (Burma) are using cellular phones to transmit photos and videos of anti-government protests occurring in that country and risking years in prison because of the government’s strict policies about Internet usage and information dissemination, according to an article in The Age.
As the article says, “The Government heavily regulates every website that carries Burmese news or information, and bars access to web-based email and general internet use. Mobiles [sic] phones are expensive and difficult to obtain, further limiting communication.”
Aung Zaw, the editor of Irrawaddy, a news magazine for expatriate Burmese in Thailand, says journalists and bloggers who send information to the magazine risk imprisonment so Irrawaddy has to be extremely careful about not putting them in any danger.
I searched YouTube for “Myanmar” and see there are numerous videos about the protest but I can’t tell whether any were recorded by camera phones (see below).
Revolutionary application
One of the reasons I started this weblog and continue to write it is because camera phones are one of the most revolutionary wireless applications I’ve seen in my 29 years of analyzing mobile communications.
The ability of ordinary people to shoot photos and videos of politically charged events and post them almost instantaneously highlights one of the most important benefits of camera phones to society.
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