Venezuela's Maduro urges citizens to denounce each other through a government app

Nicolás Maduro invited his followers to use a government App to report other Venezuelans who are protesting last Sunday's electoral results, as the government ramps up its repressive actions and seeks to remain in power.

In a menacing speech at the Government palace on Tuesday, Maduro's said:

"We are going to open a window in the App that we use for the 1x10 of Good Governance. A special page will be opened so that the entire population can confidentially provide the details of all the criminals who have attacked the people so we can go after them."

Ven App was created by the government back in 2022 with the purpose of tending to "problems associated to water supply, electricity or issues in hospitals, educational institutions, potholes, damaged crossing lights and any other public service requirements that may affect the ever day lives of the community", as shown in the official statement announcing the launch byThe Ministry of Economy and Finance back then.

However, the app came under fire almost from the beginning as human rights activist warned it could be used for other purposes. "When you see the terms and conditions on the app you find that it's made with direct collaboration with authorities, that it doesn't offer data privacy and that it collects data that goes well beyond your mail and your password, it collects your ID, your address", explained Luis Serrano in an interview from NGO Redes Ayuda to Voz de América back in August 2022.

Maduro's announcement suggested that he will extend the Ven App application to anonymously report all those who are protesting in the streets of the country. The app has been updated with an option to provide the names of those protesting against the electoral results announced by the National Electoral Council (CNE), as some users reported through screen captures.

Hours after Maduro made the announcement, users began posting tutorials on how to report the app on app stores like Google Play and, as of now, several others report that the app has, in fact, been suspended by that provider.