(crowd cheering)
- This crowd is trying to disable one
of the new security cameras that have been put up here
as kind of an experimental operation
to start increasing surveillance in this part of Hong Kong.
The ones on the outside are basically there
to form a human wall to protect the identities
of the people that are actually up
at the post breaking open this camera,
getting into the guts and ripping them out.
- [Lyons] protesters in Hong Kong fear
they are being watched and tracked when on the streets
and just showing up may expose them
to retaliation from the government.
More than a thousand people have been arrested
since the pro-democracy protests
against China's growing control
over Hong Kong started in June.
- You might be doing something that you think
is perfectly fine right now but then later you might
be charged based on camera footage,
based on geolocation data from your mobile phone and so on.
- [Lyons] Lockman Tsui researches personal data protection
and digital security in Hong Kong.
He supports the pro-democracy movement.
- [Tsui] We don't know what kind of data
the Hong Kong law enforcement is sharing
with the Chinese law enforcement.
- [Lyons] While covering pro-democracy demonstrations
in Hong Kong we found that protesters
have developed a number of tactics
to protect their identities and avoid detection both online
and on the streets.
(gunshots exploding)
(protesters screaming)
Before the streets become chaotic the scene
is usually pretty calm.
Some are already decked out in protective gear
and busy on their phones to exchange files
with somebody nearby.
Those with iPhones use AirDrop.
- Desmond Fung has joined protests
almost every weekend since June.
He says the central nervous system of this leaderless,
protest movement is the anonymous,
encrypted messaging service, Telegram.
Downloads of the app in Hong Kong have soured
since the protests began.
What are we seeing here?
- Aren't the police in there as well reading everything
that you write?
- Desmond said there are ways to sniff out spies
but he didn't want to share specifics
or show us the private chats on his phone,
because sometimes these chats
are about taking radical measures.
(drum beat music)
These are the most hardcore protesters.
Police consider them violent
and often target them for arrest.
They're getting ready to go up to the front
and actually confront the police.
They're the ones with the most at stake in terms
of obscuring their identity.
(protesters screaming)
Protesters aren't just worried about surveillance cameras
but also the police's own camera crews.
Protesters worry any footage could later be used
as evidence against them.
- [Lyons] Many protesters' kits also include this.
Laser pointers have become a thing in these protests.
They're used to distract police and blind cameras.
Protesters can buy these kinds
of laser pointers at any electronic store
and they typically cost about $10.
Police have called them offensive weapons
which means they can arrest someone
for causing injuries with lasers.
- [Lyons] Police also cite medical experts
who say the beams can cause permanent eye damage.
- Protesters' methods can also be very DIY.
He's handing out tinfoil and what he's doing
is he's wrapping people's Hong Kong IDs with tinfoil
in hopes that a law enforcement official won't be able
to scan the ID remotely.
Protesters want to prevent police from tracking them
via the radio frequency identification chips embedded
in their Hong Kong identification cards,
subway cards or credit cards.
The government says only authorized sensors
that are within two centimeters of the smart IDs
are able to pick up the information.
To avoid having their movements recorded
on their regular subway cards they pay
for one-way tickets home from the protests with cash.
- [Lyons] These tactics to avoid surveillance
go hand in hand with avoiding arrest.
(smoke bombs exploding and crowd screaming)
But if it does happen protesters also use a simple hack
to try to protect the data on their phones.
- Here in Hong Kong you have the right
to not reveal any knowledge that might incriminate you.
So a pin code is knowledge but your fingerprint
or your face is not necessarily knowledge
that you reveal to the authorities.
(protesters screaming)
- As the movement evolves police
are deploying new tactics to tag protesters,
like using water cannons laced with blue dye.
Hanging over all of this is the fear
that their identities will get swept up digitally
and end up in a database,
perhaps in Beijing that tracks them and follows them
for the rest of their lives.
Protesters told us they'll keep playing the cat
and mouse game of avoiding surveillance
while defying the government.
They say they won't stop until their demands are met,
including an inquiry into police brutality
and direct elections.
The Hong Kong government has taken some action
like withdrawing a controversial extradition bill
that sparked the protests.
It says it is looking for ways to start a dialogue
to address the discontent.
In the end the odds are stacked against them.
It's essentially a group of young Hong Kongers
with laser pointers and umbrellas
against he will of Mainland China.
How do you see this playing out for the future?
- I don't know, actually.
The chance of success is,
it's almost zero,
but we still need to do this because of the justice,
because we love this place.