In the face of the classic mechanisms of censorship and blocking of freedom of expression, technological responses deploy a level of creativity and force that no politician can match. The so-called “Citizen Security Law”, better known in Spain as “Gag Law”, sparked a protest in front of the Congress of Deputies... that had not a single participant, because all of them were holograms.
Article 39 of the Citizen Security Law explains some of the sanctions that will apply if a person, or a group of people, demonstrates in front of government buildings without the “appropriate permission”: In the mildest case, the fine could be between 100 and 600 euros, but in the most serious cases, the text of the law anticipates a penalty of 600 thousand euros. One of the actions punished by the law is the recording of police forces, which can lead to a maximum fine of 30 thousand euros; however, the most curious thing is that Article 22 of the law basically gives authorities free rein to record “persons, places or objects” with fixed or mobile surveillance cameras.
With all these points in consideration, the only word that comes to mind to describe the law is “draconian”. The law is supposed to come into force on July 1, and by way of protest, the platform No Somos Delito resorted to the purest irony: Holograms as demonstrators. Carlos Escaño, spokesperson for No Somos Delito, explains that in the face of the multiple restrictions on expression and demonstration, the only legal alternative will be to do it as holograms. The protest, besides being the first of its kind globally, is very interesting from a technical point of view, since on one hand projections are made on translucent gauze, and on the other, sheets of methacrylate are used.
As always, it is necessary to take the term “hologram” with a grain of salt because the sense of depth is nothing more than an optical effect. Even so, the message reaches where it needs to. Through holograms, No Somos Delito and all the participants of the initiative have demonstrated the total ineffectiveness of the law even before it is put into effect. The official website, known as Hologramas por la Libertad (down at the time of writing), brought together people from around the world, who shared their thoughts and even lent their image to be turned into holograms. The fight against the Gag Law will become more intense as the month of July approaches on the calendar. To be continued...
