Clampdown (event)

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You grow up and you calm down
You're working for the clampdown

The Clampdown was a time in Cybertron's history when the planet was essentially put under martial law. It was put in place by the Senate, who claimed to be heightening security measures to protect the populace and weed out potential terrorists, but was in actuality a front that would allow the Senators to increase their own power and track down those who contested their rule.

During the Clampdown, the Senate's security detail restricted passage across orbital borders, detained anyone found lacking a valid serial code, and did whatever else they found "necessary" for their citizens' safety.

Fiction

2005 IDW continuity

You start wearing the blue and brown
You're working for the clampdown

Not long before the war, a faction within the Senate secretly organized an assassination attempt on Nominus Prime, leaving him gravely injured. This not only allowed the powerful Matrix of Leadership to fall into the Senate's control, but let them initiate the Clampdown in order to track down the assailants. While it's unknown which Senators were responsible for the attack and how many of the others were aware, Proteus presented the idea of clamping down and was supported by Ratbat and most of the Senate. Ratbat particularly liked the idea of using it as a way to get rid of inconvenient groups like the Cyberutopians, the Malware Brigade, or the Militant Monoform Movement.

Though the first Senate session dealing with the Clampdown was interrupted by Orion Pax, it was implemented a short while later. Chaos Theory Part 2

Under the Clampdown, Cybertronians suffered through curfews, omnipresent sky spies, informants, and paranoia that any street they were on could be wired. Anyone with a Tarnian accent would face extra oppression. Unfortunately for the Senate, it only bred discontent with their rule. Post Hoc