New GPS Bracelet Could Save Human Rights Activists' Lives with Social Media Alert Adario Strange - DVICE
go to original April 7, 2013

The Natalia Project - the first assault alarm system for human rights defenders at risk. (crdefenders)

During widely covered protests like Occupy Wall Street, law enforcement agencies around the U.S. showed off various new, tech-powered methods of dealing with crowds engaged in civil disobedience. Now one group known for its civil rights activism hopes to harness the power of GPS technology to track and protect its members.

Created by Sweden's Civil Rights Defenders, a group that describes itself as "an organization that defends people's civil and political rights," the Natalia Project is a GPS bracelet that sends an alert to other members when the wearer is abducted or assaulted. When the alert is triggered, messages to other members are sent via Twitter and Facebook detailing the exact time and location of the assault.

An alert is also triggered if the bracelet is removed by force, essentially ensuring that the wearer will have some sense of protection in the form of public awareness of his or her whereabouts. The device was inspired by the 2009 kidnapping and murder of Natalia Estemirova, a Chechen rights worker.

For more information about the Natalia Project, please visit NataliaProject.org

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