The Internet - The first Worldwide Tool of Unification ("The End of History")

" ... Now I give you something that few think about: What do you think the Internet is all about, historically? Citizens of all the countries on Earth can talk to one another without electronic borders. The young people of those nations can all see each other, talk to each other, and express opinions. No matter what the country does to suppress it, they're doing it anyway. They are putting together a network of consciousness, of oneness, a multicultural consciousness. It's here to stay. It's part of the new energy. The young people know it and are leading the way.... "

" ... I gave you a prophecy more than 10 years ago. I told you there would come a day when everyone could talk to everyone and, therefore, there could be no conspiracy. For conspiracy depends on separation and secrecy - something hiding in the dark that only a few know about. Seen the news lately? What is happening? Could it be that there is a new paradigm happening that seems to go against history?... " Read More …. "The End of History"- Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll)

"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…5 - Integrity That May Surprise…

Have you seen innovation and invention in the past decade that required thinking out of the box of an old reality? Indeed, you have. I can't tell you what's coming, because you haven't thought of it yet! But the potentials of it are looming large. Let me give you an example, Let us say that 20 years ago, you predicted that there would be something called the Internet on a device you don't really have yet using technology that you can't imagine. You will have full libraries, buildings filled with books, in your hand - a worldwide encyclopedia of everything knowable, with the ability to look it up instantly! Not only that, but that look-up service isn't going to cost a penny! You can call friends and see them on a video screen, and it won't cost a penny! No matter how long you use this service and to what depth you use it, the service itself will be free.

Now, anyone listening to you back then would perhaps have said, "Even if we can believe the technological part, which we think is impossible, everything costs something. There has to be a charge for it! Otherwise, how would they stay in business?" The answer is this: With new invention comes new paradigms of business. You don't know what you don't know, so don't decide in advance what you think is coming based on an old energy world. ..."
(Subjects: Who/What is Kryon ?, Egypt Uprising, Iran/Persia Uprising, Peace in Middle East without Israel actively involved, Muhammad, "Conceptual" Youth Revolution, "Conceptual" Managed Business, Internet, Social Media, News Media, Google, Bankers, Global Unity,..... etc.)


German anti-hate speech group counters Facebook trolls

German anti-hate speech group counters Facebook trolls
Logo No Hate Speech Movement

Bundestag passes law to fine social media companies for not deleting hate speech

Honouring computing’s 1843 visionary, Lady Ada Lovelace. (Design of doodle by Kevin Laughlin)
Showing posts with label Anonymous. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anonymous. Show all posts

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Australia police, central bank websites hacked

Google – AFP, 21 November 2013

Australian police and central bank websites have fallen victim to cyber
attacks (AFP/File, Roslan Rahman)

Sydney — Australian police and central bank websites fell victim to cyber attacks Thursday with an Indonesian hacker claiming responsibility, reportedly demanding that Canberra apologise in an intensifying row over spying.

The row -- triggered by reports that Australian spies tried to tap the phones of the Indonesian president, his wife and ministers -- has pushed ties between Jakarta and Canberra to their lowest level since the turn of the century.

Officials called the attack on the Australian Federal Police and the Reserve Bank of Australia "irresponsible", and said whoever was to blame could face prosecution.

"These attacks... will not influence government policy," the federal police said in a statement.

"Activities such as hacking, creating or propagating malicious viruses are not harmless fun. 

They can result in serious long-term consequences for individuals, such as criminal convictions or jail time."

Police officials said their site, which hosts no sensitive information, was operating when staff left work on Wednesday evening but it was down on Thursday morning.

The outage comes barely two weeks after activist group Anonymous Indonesia claimed responsibility for defacing more than 170 Australian websites to protest at reports of Canberra spying on its nearest neighbour and strategic ally.

Ties between the two countries have deteriorated after reports this week, based on documents leaked by US intelligence fugitive Edward Snowden, that Australia tried to listen to the phone calls of the Indonesian president, his wife and ministers in 2009.

A member of Anonymous Indonesia, using the hashtag #IndonesianCyberArmy, claimed responsibility for the latest attacks.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation contacted the hacker who said the sites were targeted "because (of) the act of spying by Australia".

The federal police and central bank were targeted "because we think (they are) most important sites of government companies in Australia".

The hacker added that the action was taken on behalf of "the people of Indonesia, and the Indonesian Origin cyber army", and demanded that Canberra apologise.

"We're going to strike again (unless) Australia apologises to the people of Indonesia."

The Australian Federal Police would not comment on who might be responsible but said it was working with the Cyber Security Operations Centre and Australia's Computer Emergency Response team to identify the hackers.

The central bank website was also targeted, with a spokesman saying that back-up systems ensured that while delays may be experienced the site remained operational.

"The bank has protections for its website, so the bank website remains secure," the spokesman said.

Anonymous is believed to be a loosely organised hacker collective that conducts online attacks internationally.

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Friday, March 15, 2013

Reuters' Matthew Keys accused of Anonymous conspiracy

BBC News, 14 March 2013

Related Stories

Anonymous supporters appear in public
wearing Guy Fawkes masks
A Reuters social media editor has been charged in the US with conspiring with hacker group Anonymous to break into a website of a former employer, the Tribune Company.

The indictment says Matthew Keys gave members of Anonymous a login and password to the company server.

At least one hacker managed to change the web version of a Los Angeles Times news feature, the indictment says.

The alleged incident occurred before Mr Keys' employment with Reuters.

Neither Mr Keys - a deputy social media editor - nor Reuters have so far commented.

Court date set

The US Justice Department said Mr Keys had been charged in California with one count each of conspiracy to transmit information to damage a protected computer; transmitting information to damage a protected computer and attempted transmission of information to damage a protected computer.

Mr Keys worked for Sacramento-based TV station KTXL FOX 40 - owned by Tribune - as its web producer but his job was terminated in late October 2010, the indictment adds.

He is alleged to have identified himself on an internet chat forum as a former Tribune Company employee and then provided members of Anonymous with the login and password to the Tribune Company server.

The indictment alleges that Mr Keys had a conversation with the hacker who claimed credit for the defacement of the Los Angeles Times website.

The hacker allegedly told him that Tribune Company system administrators had locked him out.

Mr Keys allegedly tried to regain access for the hacker, and when he learned that the hacker had made changes to a page, Mr Keys is said to have responded: "Nice."

If convicted, Mr Keys faces up to 10 years in jail, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 for each count.

He is scheduled to appear in the Sacramento federal court on 14 April.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

GoDaddy hosted websites down

BBC News, 10 September 2012

Related Stories 

One Twitter feed allegedly linked to
Anonymous claimed credit but
 the cause is far from clear
Thousands of websites hosted by one of the world's biggest internet domain registrars and web hosts, GoDaddy, were reported down on Monday.

"Status Alert: Hey, all. We're aware of the trouble people are having with our site. We're working on it," the website host said.

One Twitter feed allegedly linked to Anonymous claimed credit for a hack but the cause is far from clear.

GoDaddy manages millions of websites around the world.

GoDaddy said on its Twitter account: "So many messages, can't get to you all... Sorry to hear all your frustration. We're working feverishly to resolve as soon as possible."


The account of AnonymousOwn3r identifies itself as the "security leader" of the group, but said in subsequent tweets that the attack was carried alone and not on behalf of the organisation.

"it is not Anonymous coletive it's only me don't use Anonymous coletive name on it, just my name," the person said in the feed.

Another went: "i'm taking godaddy down bacause well i'd like to test how the cyber security is safe and for more reasons that i can not talk now."

However, the Associated Press news agency quoted another Anonymous-associated Twitter account as accusing the first of taking advantage of a situation it had not created.

Anonymous is a loosely organised collective of hackers and hacking advocates.

GoDaddy provides hosting services around the world and has said it had $1.1bn (£687m) in sales in 2011.

Attacks by Anonymous on major sites have become much more common.

In early June, members of Anonymous staged protests in 16 cities in India against what they said was internet censorship in the country and in April, Anonymous also claimed responsibility for defacing almost 500 websites in China.

Lulzsec, an off-shoot of Anonymous, gained notoriety last year with a string of high-profile attacks on websites and businesses such as one on Sony Pictures in which thousands of personal details were published online.



Friday, June 22, 2012

India unblocks The Pirate Bay and other sharing sites

BBC News, 22 June 2012

Related Stories 

Activists argued that the original internet
legislation amounted to censorship
Web users in India are once again able to access video and file-sharing sites, including The Pirate Bay.

The country's Madras High Court has changed its earlier censorship order which centred on the issue of internet copyright.

The original ruling made Indian internet service providers (ISPs) block access to entire sites to prevent a single film from being shared online.

The new order was issued following an appeal filed by a consortium of ISPs.

It states that only specific web addresses - URLs - carrying the pirated content should be blocked, but not the entire website.

"The order of interim injunction dated 25/04/2012 is hereby clarified that the interim injunction is granted only in respect of a particular URL where the infringing movie is kept and not in respect of the entire website," reads the updated decision.

"Further, the applicant is directed to inform about the particulars of URL where the interim movie is kept within 48 hours."

Hacking attacks

In late March, Chennai-based Copyrightlabs, an Indian anti-piracy firm, won a court order that made Indian ISPs and phone firms stop their customers reaching websites that were illegally sharing copies of certain Bollywood films.

The Ashok Kumar order - similar to a "John Doe" order in the United States and designed to protect the copyright of music, films and other content - allowed copyright holders to request a website be taken down to prevent users from downloading content illegally.

The ruling led to a series of cyber-attacks by the hacker group Anonymous, which targeted a number of Indian websites, including those for government departments and India's Supreme Court.

Anonymous said the attacks were carried out in retaliation against blocks imposed on video and file-sharing sites.

The internet hacking group then staged numerous protests against "internet censorship" in India.


Related Article:


Friday, March 23, 2012

Most 2011 cyberattacks were avoidable, Verizon says

Despite all the hype about sophisticated attack methods, 97% could have been stopped using fundamental precautions

Computerworld, by Jaikumar Vijayan, March 22, 2012

Computerworld - Despite rising concern that cyberattacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, hackers used relatively simple methods 97% of data breaches in 2011, according to a report compiled by Verizon.

The annual Verizon report on data breaches, released Thursday, also found that in a vast majority of attacks (80%), hackers hit victims of opportunity rather than companies they sought out.

The findings suggest that while companies are spending increasing sums of money on sophisticated new security controls, they are also continuing to overlook fundamental security precautions.

The conclusions in the Verizon report are based on the investigations into more than 850 data breaches. The report was compiled with the help of the U.S. Secret Service and law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Ireland and Australia, Verizon said.

Verizon said it found that attacks by so-called "hactivist" groups such as Anonymous for the first time compromised more breached records -- more than 100 million -- than the number of attacks by hackers specifically looking to steal financial or personal data.

Data breach victims and security vendors generally tend to describe attacks as highly sophisticated and involving a great deal of expertise on the part of hackers.

The Verizon report though shows a far more mundane reality.

Most of the breaches didn't require hackers to possess special skills or resources, or to do much customization work. In fact, Verizon said that 96% of the attacks "were not highly difficult" for the hackers.

"Additionally, 97% were avoidable, without the need for organizations to resort to difficult or expensive countermeasures," the report said.

Very often, the companies breached had no firewalls, had ports open to the Internet or used default or easily guessable passwords, said Marc Spitler a Verizon security analyst.

The study found that cybercriminals did not have to work any harder to break into a large organization than into a small one.

Attackers in 2011 generally didn't need new sophisticated tools to break into most organizations, Spitler said.

"We have seen nothing new. Some of the old standbys are continuing to work very well for the people going after information," he said. "Not enough has been done to raise the bar and to force them to spend" significant sums on new tools and exploits.

The most sophistication found by the researchers was in the methods used by attackers to steal data after breaking in to systems, he said.

Attackers typically have installed malware on a victim company's network to escalate privileges, set up backdoors, enable remote control and sniff out sensitive data. Many take steps to remain hidden on the network for a long time and then wipe their tracks when they are done.

Such tasks require moderate to advanced skills and extensive resources on the part of the attackers, according to Spitler. "That is one area where we have raised the bar," he said.

Most of the targeted attacks last year were directed large companies in the finance and insurance industries, according to Verizon.

Hackers, often part of organized groups, used large-scale automated methods to find vulnerable businesses to exploit.

In such cases, more than 85% of victim companies employed less than 1,000 employees and were mostly in the retail, hospitality and food services industries.

The findings once again highlight the need for companies to pay attention to security basics, Spitler said.

"It is about going back to basic security principles. A lot of the same recommendations we have used in past years, we have recommended this year," he said.

Jaikumar Vijayan covers data security and privacy issues, financial services security and e-voting for Computerworld. Follow Jaikumar on Twitter at @jaivijayan, or subscribe to Jaikumar's RSS feed . His e-mail address is jvijayan@computerworld.com.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Anonymous claims Vatican website shutdown

CNN News, by Amber Lyon, Eric Marrapodi and Hada Messia, March 7th, 2012




Rome (CNN) - Hackers are claiming to have shut down the website for the Catholic Church Wednesday.  Vatican.va, the official website of the Holy See, was not operational Wednesday afternoon.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi confirmed to CNN the site was hacked, but said it would be "fully operational" again shortly.

Anonymous, a loosely-knit international hacking group, claimed responsibility for the church website shutdown.

"Anonymous has now decided to lay siege to your site in response to the doctrines, liturgies and the precepts, absurd and anachronistic, that your organization, (which) is for profit, propagates and spreads worldwide," a statement in Italian on the blog "ufficiale di Anonymous Italia" read.

"This is NOT intended to attack the Christian religion or against the faithful around the world, but to the corrupt Roman Apostolic Church and all its emanations," the statement added.

A longtime follower of Anonymous who is in touch with the hackers involved and who has knowledge of the plan told CNN that hackers within Anonymous Italy and AntiSec were responsible for shutdown of the church website. AntiSec Anons describe themselves as the "special forces" of the collective.

The source confirmed the statement on the Italian hacker's website.

"It's not a personal attack on Christians, just on the Vatican itself," said the source, who asked to remain anonymous to protect their identity from the group.

Anonymous Italy also cited the Catholic Church's teachings on birth control and abortion and the way it handled widespread sexual abuse scandals as other reasons for the hacking.

The U.S. arm of the Anonymous hacking group has targeted government agencies and corporations before but not religious organizations. The group claimed responsibility for hacking into an FBI phone call with their Irish counterparts and cyberstrikes between December 2010 and June 2011 that included denial of service attacks against the websites of Visa, MasterCard and PayPal.

A denial of service (DoS) attack typically involves the use of a large number of computers to bombard websites with phony requests for information, causing the site to temporarily shut down.

On Tuesday, top members of the computer hacker group and its offshoots were arrested and charged after a wide-ranging investigation which was assisted by a group leader working as a secret government informant. The FBI informant, "Sabu," was a part of the elite AntiSec hackers.

CNN's Susan Candiotti contributed to this report.

Eric Marrapodi - CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor


(Religions – Zionism - March 1, 2012 - Matthew Channelled by Suzanne Ward)

9. It can be no other way—simply, this is the physics that governs life in this universe. As Earth continues apace into successively higher planes, nothing with low vibrations in any form—physical bodies, subversive plans, theft, dishonesty, unjust laws and imprisonment, bigotry, cruel customs and deeds—can survive.

10. Moving on, no, it will not be quite like religions being “totally discarded and replaced by universal laws in the Golden Age.” When the truths come forth that science and spirit are one and the same and that religious dogmas were originated by early leaders of church and state to control the masses, people whose consciousness has risen beyond the constraints of third density will adhere to the spiritual aspects of their respective religions and the devised, controlling aspects will fall by the wayside.

11. One of the truths to come forth is that Zionism, which by dark intent has been made synonymous with Judaism, actually is a bellicose political movement within the Illuminati, and its aim for more than six decades has been to create conflict and instability in the entire Middle East. Zionists, who have wielded powerful influence within and behind major governments and their military forces, do NOT represent the Jewish peoples in Israel or anywhere else. And, like all other Illuminati factions, they have been committed to that cabal’s goal of global domination.

12. Although Semites are of diverse national origins and religions, the Zionists have been successful in convincing many that “anti-Semitic” is exclusively prejudice against the Jewish peoples and opposition to Israel’s right to defend itself from its “enemies.” By means of that blatant distortion, they obtained not only world sympathy, but also massive defense funding from Israel’s allies, most especially the United States, all of which served to increase the Illuminati’s vast profits from their industrial-military machine.

13. In addition to controlling the masses through dogmatic teachings, religions have served the dark purpose of divisiveness to such an extent that it resulted in centuries of trauma and bloodshed. Witness the Crusades, wars between Catholics and Protestants, pogroms against Jews, executions of “blasphemous” individuals who refused to “recant.”  (Read More …)


"Matthew preparing us for the Golden Age." -  Jan 19, 2012 (Channelled by Suzy Ward)


"Perceptions of God" – June 6, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Quantum Teaching, The Fear of God, Near-death Experience, God Becomes Mythology, Worship, Mastery, Intelligent Design, Benevolent Creator, Global Unity.... etc.) (Text version)

“.. For centuries you haven't been able to think past that box of what God must be like. So you create a Human-like God with wars in heaven, angel strife, things that would explain the devil, fallen angels, pearly gates, lists of dos and don'ts, and many rules still based on cultures that are centuries old. You create golden streets and even sexual pleasures as rewards for men (of course) - all Human perspective, pasted upon God. I want to tell you that it's a lot different than that. I want to remind you that there are those who have seen it! Why don't you ask somebody who has had what you would call a near-death experience? 


"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Lose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Pedal wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.)  - New !  

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Anonymous joins forces with OWS against NDAA-supporting politicians

RT.com, 28 February, 2012

Photo from anonops.blogspot.com

America’s most powerful protest groups are joining forces to warn elected officials that they will be held accountable for their actions. The campaign is called Our Polls and its being launched with help from both Anonymous and the Occupy movement.

The AnonOps Communications website revealed details early Monday this week regarding the hacktivist collective’s latest campaign. Along with the nation-wide Occupy Wall Street movement, Anonymous says they are going after the politicians in America that supported legislation that both entities have largely advocated against.

“Elected officials serve one purpose — to represent their constituents, the people who voted them into office,” reads a statement posted to the website. “Last year, many of our elected officials let us down by giving in to deep-pocketed lobbyists and passing laws meant to boost corporate profits at the expense of individual liberty.”

The legislation in question include the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act. In an act of retaliation aimed at those that supported these bills, the groups have released a roster of politicians that have not only expressed favor for the laws, but that are also up for reelection this year.

“You are one person. You have one vote. Use that vote on November 6 to hold your elected official accountable for supporting bills such as NDAA, SOPA and PIPA,” reads their statement.

Although both SOPA and PIPA have been halted in Congress, the NDAA was successfully signed into law by US President Barack Obama on December 31, 2011, granting the commander-in-chief the power to authorize the military detainment of American citizens without ever bringing charges against them.

“Our Senators and Representatives showed how little they cared about personal freedoms when they voted overwhelmingly to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA),” reads Monday’s statement, which also calls the act “a prominent threat to the inalienable due process rights of every US citizen as laid out in the Constitution.”

“It allows the military to engage in civilian law enforcement, and to suspend due process, habeas corpus or other constitutional guarantees when desired. Our congressmen passed one of the greatest threats to civil liberties in the history of the United States.”

Similar legislation in the vein of the failed SOPA and PIPA acts have also been drafted since their defeat, which critics fear could cause the US government to implement a veil of censorship over the World Wide Web. Although activists with both Anonymous and Occupy have openly opposed such laws in the past, the latest campaign will at last bring both bodies together to protest any other damning legislation.

According to a statement released Monday, both groups aim to make sure that any lawmaker chosen by the American people will walks away Election Day a loser if they support any such acts.

“We are calling on voters, activists and keyboard warriors under all banners to unite as a single force to unseat the elected representatives who threaten our essential freedoms and who were so quick to minimize our individual constitutional rights for a quick corporate profit,” they write.

Although both Anonymous and OWS are described as leaderless movement with no formal organization, the AnonOps Communication website and its related Twitter accounts have served as an unofficial conduit of sorts in terms of relaying information pertaining to the hacktivist collective. The site has previously announced, confirmed and commented on hacks and other campaigns credited to Anonymous.

During last week’s installment of Anonymous’ #FuckFBIFriday campaign, the group tackled the website of GEO Group, Inc., a multi-national private prison management firm operated out of Florida. In a statement that accompanied that hack, operatives aligned with the Anon collective announced another plan put together in cooperation with the Occupy movement. In that instance, both groups intend to join forces on Tuesday this week to march in cities across America to demand an end to the suppression of the OWS movement. Hacktivists with Anonymous have also previously condemned law enforcement agencies across America for violently responding to the occupier's peaceful demonstrations which began last September in New York.


Sunday, February 12, 2012

Acta protests: Thousands take to streets across Europe

BBC News, by Dave Lee, Technology Reporter, 11 February 2012


Marchers in London gathered outside British Music House,
home to several major rights holders

Related Stories 

Thousands of people have taken part in co-ordinated protests across Europe in opposition to a controversial anti-piracy agreement.

Significant marches were held in Germany, Poland and the Netherlands against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta).

Around 200 protesters gathered in central London outside the offices of several major rights holders.

Demonstrators argued that Acta will limit freedom of speech online.

However the agreement's supporters insist it will not alter existing laws, and will instead provide protection for content creators in the face of increasing levels of online piracy.

The treaty has to date been signed by 22 EU members, including the UK, but has yet to be ratified by the European Parliament. A debate is due to take place in June.

On Friday, Germany delayed signing the agreement in order to, a spokesman said, "give us time to carry out further discussions".

'In secret'

Saturday's London demonstration was supported by the Open Rights Group, a vocal opponent to the treaty. The group's executive director, Jim Killock, argued that Germany's stance shows Acta negotiations were carried out "in secret" by EU "bureaucrats".


What is Acta? 
  • The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is an international treaty aiming to standardise copyright protection measures.
  • It seeks to curb trade of counterfeited physical goods, including copyrighted material online.
  • Preventative measures include possible imprisonment and fines.
  • Critics argue that it will stifle freedom of expression on the internet, and it has been likened to the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa).
  • Acta has been signed by 22 EU members, including the UK, but is yet to be ratified by the European Parliament.


"Three member states in Europe are now looking like they don't want to sign," he told the BBC.

"That shows that politicians are only really starting to look at this now. All of a sudden, the whole thing is breaking down."

Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have already delayed the process after significant pressure from mostly young people.

"The point today is to say Acta is undemocratic," Mr Killock added.

"It's lacked scrutiny, it's setting up dangerous new pressures to censor the internet to remove users and put pressure on [Internet Service Providers] to start policing for copyright."

More demonstrations were held in other UK cities, including Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Anonymous hackers

The anti-Acta movement has also been widely adopted by members of the Anonymous activist collective, which has claimed responsibility for putting high-profile government websites out of action, including that of the Polish prime minister.

Speaking at the London protest Loz Kaye, leader of the Pirate Party UK, dismissed worries that aligning closely with Anonymous - whose members carry out various illegal activities online - was harmful to their cause.

"What we've seen is a whole wave of people coming out on the streets right across Europe," he told the BBC. 

The Open Rights Group's Jim Killock
called the agreement undemocratic"
"Some people have been called extreme, but equally, Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières have spoken out. Even The Economist, which is hardly radical, has described the treaty as potentially draconian."

'Greater transparency'

The BBC contacted several key rights holders prior to the demonstration - all of which declined to comment.

The UK's Intellectual Property Office has maintained that Acta "should not" mean new laws relating to internet use.

In a statement, Baroness Wilcox, parliamentary under-secretary for Business, Innovation and Skills, told the BBC: "It was important for the UK to be a signatory of Acta as it will set an international standard for tackling large-scale infringements of [intellectual property rights], through the creation of common enforcement standards and more effective international cooperation.

"During the negotiations, we continually pushed for greater transparency as we believed that this would have led to a better understanding of the agreement by the public."


Saturday, February 4, 2012

Anonymous calls for anti-ACTA rallies, Poland suspends bill

RT.com, 04 February, 2012



AFP Photo / Michal Cizek


A wolf in sheep’s clothing – that’s how ACTA opponents have described the international copyright treaty. Thousands are to protest in Sweden on Saturday while in Poland the legislation has been suspended after attacks on government websites.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday that a wider discussion should be held before the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement comes into force. The talks should involve both Internet users and privacy protection agencies, Tusk added. Ratification of the document has been postponed pending the results of those talks. 
 
Meanwhile in Sweden, thousands of Internet users are expected to take to the streets of several major cities on Saturday. Over 11,000 have signed up to attend the rallies on a Facebook page promoted by the “hacktivist” group, Anonymous.

Reports say similar demonstrations are set to take place in other countries across Europe, including the UK, France, Germany, Poland and other countries.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is a plurilateral agreement involving a number of countries including the US, Australia and Japan, as well as the European Union. The UK and 21 other EU member states signed the agreement on January 26. It now has to be ratified by the European Parliament and is scheduled to be debated in June.

The treaty aims at establishing a legal framework to stop the cross-border trade in counterfeit goods. However many, including insiders, say the document jeopardizes Internet freedoms. 

The former European Parliament rapporteur for ACTA, Kader Arif, resigned his post last Friday after the treaty was signed by the EU, condemning the whole process leading to the signature of the agreement.

He later told the Guardian that the treaty threatens online freedom and could mean that someone crossing a border with a laptop containing a single song or movie potentially facing criminal charges.

“The title of this agreement is misleading, because it is not only about counterfeiting, it is about the violation of intellectual property rights," Kader Arif told the Guardian. "There is a major difference between these two concepts."  

ACTA, which is often compared to America’s controversial SOPA and PIPA bills, has led to major protests in several European states. In solidarity with the movement, the online activist collective Anonymous has launched a series of Internet attacks.


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