Jared N. Tech 06.05.2020 09:Jun AM EDT

Could The Police Be Remotely Shutting Down Protestors' Phones?

In every corner of the world, especially all over the United States of America, there is civil unrest taking over like a tsunami.

The murder of George Floyd has fueled protests around the world and in all fifty states of the United States. These protestors gather to express the frustration, anger, and fear they feel towards how our society is at its current state.

When these protests are happening, a protestor's smartphone is their most powerful tool. It can even be a weapon to defend themselves. There was a saying recently where they said that racism wasn't getting worse, it was only getting more well-known thanks to people filming the racist acts.

Your smartphone's built-in camera has given people a power that previous generations didn't have, and it's assisting the Black Lives Matter movement is gaining traction at an exponential rate.

You could imagine how much the opposing forces would want to take away the protestors' power, and they want to take it away badly.

Can The Police Remotely Deactivate Smartphone Cameras?

A new conspiracy theory has been going around that has people thinking that members of the police force and other government officials can remotely deactivate smartphone cameras in the protests. The tweet below will show you what these people are theorizing.

People are saying nypd disabled phone cameras on the Manhattan bridge last night, is anyone familiar enough with patents or iPhone tech to know what method is being used? Cell signals or Bluetooth? pic.twitter.com/JeP2Oxbj4q — ʕᴥʔ (@nyc_corgi_dad) June 3, 2020

Numerous tweets show that it isn't an isolated theory. But a few tweets won't make the theory a fully-fledged one. However, if there's a large number of tweets theorizing the same thing, then you can see that people think it's true.

Don't worry about it being a true theory. Smartphone cameras being remotely deactivated by the police is most likely not something that's going on. It isn't entirely impossible, but police officers having the power to shut down phone cameras remotely is an absurd notion.

The tweets above are referencing a patent filed by Apple more than a decade ago, and they're using it as evidence that their theory is true. But a patent can't be evidence that a device exists since patents don't mean something exists.

Police Officers Can't Shut Off Smartphone Cameras Remotely

There is plenty of evidence that suggests that police aren't remotely deactivating smartphone cameras.

Many of the theorizing tweets are specifically talking about iPhones. Apple wouldn't want this type of device to exist, judging from the company's past statements.

Apple didn't let the FBI crack the encryption of iPhones even if it meant catching a criminal, so that should tell you that they wouldn't let some sort of remote shutdown device isn't plausible.

The most conclusive evidence showing that this isn't happening is the number of photos from the protests that you can find online. The protests that the tweets talk about have had people take pictures, which is photographic evidence itself. So, it's clear that phone cameras weren't remotely deactivated by police officers.

That's why you should always research something that seems scary before you panic. It might be misinformed people panicking or people maliciously spreading fear.