Political HacktivismEva Sánchez and Virginia Chan

Introduction

• Influence of internet o Increased access to informationo Global connectivity

• Politicians using internet as a new platform to gain more supporterso publicize campaigno “levels playing field”

• Public opinion plays a more important role in elections and political campaigning

Political Hacktivism

• Jordan and Taylor: “The emergence of popular political action, of the self-activity of groups of people, in cyberspace.” ○ “A grassroots political protest with computer

hacking”● A merge between political activism and computer

hacking

● Hacktivists are motivated by the notion that the people have a right to information. In terms of politics, this means the public has the right to know exactly what goes on behind the scenes, what political leaders actually stand for, and what wrongs/rights the government has committed.

Examples

● Protest sites and spoof Web sites○ Covers a multiplicity of subjects○ Presentation of content ranges from

professional to amateur

● Cyber-squatting○ “Registering a domain name with intent

to profit from the onward sale to its (rightful) owner” (214)

○ Successful if search engines can find it

Examples

● E-graffiti○ Defacement of Web sites

● Denial of Service Attacks -- virtual sit-ins○ Overloading the site with visits

Examples

● Site Redirection/ Virtual Road Blocks○ Directing users away from official site

without owner’s knowledge

● Flashmobs○ When a huge group of people meet at a

specific time and place to perform a task○ Secrecy from police, press, and timing are

essential○ Invitations are informal and done over the

internet via emails, blogs, instant messaging, etc.

USEFUL PURPOSES AND DIRTY POLITICS

•Does the goals always justify the means?o PROS

“Hacktivism has the potential to play an active and constructive role to overcome political justice, educate, inform and be a genuine agent of positive political and social change. The marriage of hacktivism to participatory democracy leads to the empowerment of individuals or participatory democracy, the breakdown of barriers or participatory pluralism and disintermediation of channels of communication or direct democracy”

Abbey Goodrum

o CONS Restrict freedom

“Roadblocking” or “picketing buildings” on the net

Illegal actions

Anonymous

• Suddenly emerged in 2008

• At the beginning it was composed of professionals

→ Now anyone can participate

Anonymous

• GOALS: end with the oppression from governments and other organizations on the Interneto “We want to fight the powers-that-be when they overstep the

lines.”

• Conciousness o "I'm not under the illusion that we're going to change the

world,but if we can make a big enough noise for people to notice there's a problem and scream loud enough, someone's going to take notice. That's what Anonymous is."

Scottish Activist

Conclusions

• Success of hacktivism:1. How much nuisance was caused?2. How widely was it covered?3. Did anything change as a result?

• Bigger impacts when hacktivism is accompanied by activism

Bibliography- Auty, C. (2004). Political hacktivism: tool of the underdog or

scourge of cyberspace? In: Aslib Proceedings. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 212-221

- Anonymous, hacktivism and the rise of cyber protester http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20446048

- E Siapera 2012 Chapter 5 Understanding New Media. Sage.-Jordan, Tim, and Paul A. Taylor. "Hacking and Hackitivism."

Hacktivism and Cyberwars: Rebels with a Cause? London: Routledge, 2004. 1-18. Print.

-Ludlow, Peter. "WikiLeaks and Hacktivist Culture | The Nation." WikiLeaks and Hacktivist Culture. The Nation, 4 Oct. 2010. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. <http://www.thenation.com/article/154780/wikileaks-and-hacktivist-culture>.