
Hong Kong Protests Show Dangers of a Cashless Society - kyleblarson
https://reason.com/2019/07/02/hong-kong-protests-show-dangers-of-a-cashless-society/
======
mindfulhack
Any technology that is pro-society should never be over-centralised (e.g.
control over citizen freedoms to use that technology).

Physical cash is material technically government-controlled and -produced, but
people can freely trade it with great independence.

I don't think we'll have a big problem here. People's drive to freely trade
critical resources between each other is so strong that they'll create their
own currencies if they need to - which is exactly what the burgeoning
ecosystem of cryptocurrencies already is.

------
jaclaz
While the overall point is IMHO extremely valid (cash is some form of
liberty), I somehow feel that something in the matter is _queer_.

Taking public transport to get to the area of the protests might have not been
the best choice anyway.

I mean, is it so far-fetched that the queues at vending machines are monitored
and recorded by security cameras and facial recognition can be later used
(syncronized with the actual ticket emission time) if the government wants to
know who went where?

I see from the photo of the linked within article:

[https://qz.com/1642441/extradition-law-why-hong-kong-
protest...](https://qz.com/1642441/extradition-law-why-hong-kong-protesters-
didnt-use-own-metro-cards/)

that many people wear surgical masks, but I dont think that would be an issue
if the governement wants to identify someone.

And there is no need of a pre-made database, it can be built later, assuming
that the holder of an Octopus card re-uses public transport, you film him/her
_next time_.

~~~
Arn_Thor
If the government has a high-resolution camera and the latest tech maybe.. But
a regular security camera would probably need at least eyes plus the
nose/mouth to make a facial model afaik. If a person enters their home station
wearing a mask, and returns with a mask later, that probably keeps them quite
anonymous.

A more immediate concern for the protesters is probably that police were
stopping young people clad in black in MTR stations at hotspots, as well as
those taking minibuses leaving the scene of the June 1 event, and jotting down
their IDs.

------
sneak
I have been beating this drum for a long time:

[https://vimeo.com/27653912](https://vimeo.com/27653912)

------
Kasoha
article of the week.

