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A spokesperson for Anonymous, who goes by the name Coldblood, has told the BBC that Operation: Payback is not over yet. "It's still going strong," he said, "more people are joining, more and more people are downloading the voluntary botnet tool." Coldblood, Anonymous and its supporters are all painting themselves as the protectors of free speech in the conflict over WikiLeaks.
Free speech on the Internet is always a contentious topic. Many people advocate for the Web to be a bastion of unfiltered and unregulated content. Companies and governments do seek to exert some control over the Internet for various reasons -- sometimes for good (e.g., cracking down on child pornography) and sometimes not (we're looking at you, China). Social networks have, more or less, been a haven for free speech advocates, who have used tools like Twitter and Facebook to communicate in countries with oppressive regimes. But, in the case of WikiLeaks, many have been put in a difficult position. Sites like Twitter and Facebook take the idea of free and open communication very seriously, but they're also likely facing pressure from the U.S. government (as PayPal was) -- and that's perhaps why Anonymous's Facebook and Twitter accounts were recently suspended.
Assange and WikiLeaks have, so far, remained quiet on the activities of Anonymous, which has also targeted a Swiss bank that put a freeze on Assange's defense fund, and the site of the Swedish prosecutor representing the two women who have accused Assange of sexual assault. Assange may not want to alienate any allies he may have left, and it would be unfair to blame him for actions taken on his behalf by a group of Internet miscreants. Still, if he wants to ensure that he wins the PR war against the governments of the world, he'd do well to distance himself from the attacks.
Update:
Anonymous has posted a video (below) explaining its actions and motives to the media and the public.
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Comments
22
Subscribe to commentskfjbaksjbffbDec 9th 2010 3:00PM
The "rape" he's accused of is consensual unprotected sex, which is "rape" in Sweden.
terrenceDec 9th 2010 4:06PM
@kfjbaksjbffb
By some accounts, mainly Assange's, that is the case. However there seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding what he is being charged with outside of the general "sexual assault." The truth probably won't come out until he returns to Sweden to answer the charges and confront his accusers.
oysterDec 9th 2010 3:11PM
"...let him go to trial and prove he's not a rapist..."
Is that how the justice system works these days?
terrenceDec 9th 2010 4:10PM
@oyster
Not trying to imply that he's guilt until proven innocent, merely suggesting that maybe people should wait for the drama to play out in court before jumping up to defend the man. Especially when a group's definition of "defending" involves launching massive DDoS attacks against governments and lawyers.
taraDec 10th 2010 9:40AM
@oyster
In a lot of countries that is precisely how the justice system works. And while I tend to believe that these charges were politically motivated as a means to stop wikileaks from further releasing documents, a rape accusation should be taken very seriously regardless of who the accused is or what kind of work he does. It's almost as if because people like his work, it's okay to ignore a rape allegation. That's just wrong. If he's innocent, that should come out in a trial. But this whole "his work is too important and we know he's innocent" line being espoused by his supporters is wrong. I don't care what kind of work he's doing. If he's a rapist, he deserves to be locked up. If he's not, it will come out. But I'm not going to simply believe it was some consensual act simply because the guy being accused of rape said so. Since when do we take the rapist's word for whether sex was consensual or not? Be real!
svvalkyrieDec 10th 2010 1:35PM
@oyster
oysterDec 9th 2010 4:27PM
@terrence
So we shouldn't admire and defend his efforts to expose government and corporate corruption until these serious and pressing "broken condom" issues are resolved?
terrenceDec 9th 2010 5:42PM
@oyster
I fail to see how launching DDoS attcks against the Swedish government or the lawyer of his accusers has anything to do with defending his efforts to expose corruption.
Don SpilleDec 10th 2010 10:32AM
@oyster ~
While some may perceive Mr. Assange as having noble motives and being a champion of free speech, one must remember this is the real world and this sort of rampant, extreme dissolution of covert operations is irresponsible to say the least and treasonous to say the most. If you actually believe that simply because some information is not meant for public consumption it is therefore evil or evidence of corruption, you need to take a closer look. Were it not for covert information and operations, we in the US would be goose-stepping or speaking Japanese. The residents of the US embassy in Saigon would have been killed or imprisoned as we would not have known the North VC were enroute and further back, The British would likely not have been defeated in the 18th century and we would not be a nation now.
Wake up people. Mr. Assange certainly has his reasons, but I seriously doubt his motives are anywhere in the vicinity of "Noble".
ChuckDec 10th 2010 7:22AM
Exactly what is Wikileaks trying to Prove?? That they can disrupt a Country that has lead the destruction of other countries that demean the rights of others just to show the world that they can do what they think is right for those that believe in Freedom of religion and the rights of Women to work for a decent wage? What is wrong with those people?. Are they trying to destroy Freedom? The right to live in a world without fear of retaliation and fear from those that would outlaw Women from leading others to a better world to live in? What gives those jack asses the right to divulge secrets meant to protect others that would do what is right to lead others to becoming Friendly also? Just a bunch of Jerks wanting to strut their stuff,,, somewhat like a jerk hooked on drugs, and will keep on trying to disrupt their lives, and the lives of entire Countries just to satisfy their own qualms and disorders. Just a bunch of Sicko's with nothing better to do, except to destroy their own lives because theirs was not included in the changing world to their likes and dislikes... Children out to destroy the "Toy's they did not want" that they believe were forced upon them.... Kind of like Boys getting Barbie Dolls, and the Girls getting Erector sets for Christmas.... Ah Yes,, Christmas!! Happy Holida..... I mean, "Merry Christmas to All!" Even to You Non Believers!
Cheers! NiteOwl
oysterDec 10th 2010 10:29AM
@tara
No one has alleged that the sex was non-consensual. After finding out about each other, the two women decided to pressure Assange to take a test for STDs since a condom broke during one of the encounters. Assange ignored them, which prompted them to go to authorities to make a complaint.
I'm completely in support of authorities taking accusations of rape seriously, but does this really warrant an international code-red Interpol manhunt? All to satisfy what is basically the hurt feelings of two jilted women?
teltech54Dec 10th 2010 9:51AM
Excellent.
oysterDec 10th 2010 10:47AM
@Don Spille
Don, I wouldn't condescend to imply that you don't live in the "real world" or that you need to "wake up" but if these diplomatic communications were so vitally secret, don't you think someone in the government would lift a finger to attempt to find the government employee who actually leaked the information in the first place? Shouldn't that be the real focus? Why is it necessary to lock down the free flow of information on the internet just because Hillary Clinton got embarrassed? Do you think there are some "real world" concerns that we should all "wake up" to when the government tries to lock down our free speech in the name of security?
ruthsgardensDec 10th 2010 10:57AM
These charges were already mitigated once before and dropped.Consensual sex with a condome that breaks is not rape in any country.These 2 women are pressuring him to be tested for std's.Have them go test theirselves.Even if these women have std's, it is not rape.Who the hell are you people listening to?
anneeDec 10th 2010 11:16AM
Information sure is "free" when you steal it. Provenance is everything. Who said it? When was it said? In what context was it said? Was it "real" or was it barnstorming? When anything is stolen, its veracity and validity is always in question. Operation "payback" is a childish and pathetic reaction to the situation. Sounds like something a bunch of acne infested teenagers would come up with.
punko29@hotmail.comDec 10th 2010 2:55PM
@annee
FYI, the files were given to Assange by an official of the US government.
AkuinDec 11th 2010 4:27PM
Hey Anonymous, you just fully lost all respect I had for you. Good job, burn for all I care. The fact that you're supporting a terrorist, and yes people he's a terrorist, is inexcusable. Glad you lot are hidden behind Anonymous, cuz honestly you should go down with him.
EliasDec 10th 2010 12:16PM
All these people against Wikileaks and does ANYONE remember Vietnam?!?
that happened cause the government LIED TO US and kept secrets from us!
don't believe me?
...
do to the freedom of information's act the CIA has to release all files 20 years after filed.
look up the their files on Vietnam.
so no the government can't be trusted with having secrets.
EliasDec 10th 2010 12:17PM
US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates admitted in a letter to the US congress that no sensitive intelligence sources or methods had been compromised by the Afghan war logs disclosure. The Pentagon stated there was no evidence the WikiLeaks r...eports had led to anyone being harmed in Afghanistan. NATO in Kabul told CNN it couldn't find a single person who needed protecting. The Australian Department of Defence said the same. No Australian troops or sources have been hurt by anything we have published.
chckpopeDec 10th 2010 2:05PM
I think this isn't going to turn out well for any of them. They are messing with some pretty powerful forces here and although they think they are standing for freedom, they will probably all end up losing theirs. And these rape charges were filed before he leaked his secrets so I don't know how that is going to turn out either. It doesn't look good for him either way, that is why he didn't want to go back there. This sounds like a movie.