The US is developing a new app that would clear data from smartphones and send emergency alerts simultaneously for pro-democracy campaigners across the world.
The app, being dubbed as the "panic button", is being designed in such a manner that it can be activated if the device falls into the hands of repressive security authorities. Targeted countries include China and those in the Middle East.
The move is part of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s push to expand Internet freedoms. Under Clinton, the US State Department has pushed Internet freedom as a basic human right.
Last month, Clinton had revealed the Obama administration’s new policy on global Internet freedom. She had said the plan was designed to help people overcome barriers in the Web world while making it difficult for autocracies to use technology to suppress dissent.
In a speech in Washington, Clinton had praised social networks for their positive role in protests in Tunisia and Egypt.
However, there seems to be a conscious decision of the US to place a lid on such efforts.
Assistant US secretary of state for human rights and labour Michael Posner said about the development of the panic button app, "We’ve been trying to keep below the radar on this, because a lot of the people we are working with are operating in very sensitive environments."
Posner added that the protesters in Cairo showed how important mobile devices were to modern grassroots political movements.
The State Department plans to finance programs like circumvention services, which allow users to evade Internet firewalls. The US has budgeted around $50m since 2008 helping social activists on such services and to protect their own data from government intrusion.
Posner said, "We’re operating like venture capitalists, giving small grants."
"We are looking for the most innovative people who are going to tailor their technology and their expertise to the particular community of people we’re trying to protect."
