Anonymous Calls for Web Blackout to Protest CISPA

Datamation content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

The hacktivist group Anonymous called on websites to take down their normal home pages on Monday as a sign of protest against the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA). However, only a few Internet sites joined the protest.

Computerworld’s Jay Alabaster reported, “Hacking group Anonymous asked websites to black out their front pages on Monday, in protest against legislation in the U.S. that would allow online companies and government agencies to more easily share personal information. The protest against the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), meant to start from 6 a.m. GMT, appeared to have little traction early. Anonymous-related accounts called for action on Twitter using the hashtag ‘#CISPABlackout’ and a spattering of minor sites blocked access, including the popular ‘Funny’ category on Reddit.”

The Huffington Post’s Alexis Kleinman asked, “Notice anything different about the Internet on Monday? Unfortunately for Anonymous, you probably didn’t. Anonymous called for an Internet blackout to protest CISPA, a cybersecurity bill currently making its way through Congress, on Monday. And while over 300 websites are participating, the blackout isn’t really making its presence felt, since most of the sites blacking out are quite small.”

SlashGear’s Brian Sin explained, “CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, was passed by the House on April 18th with a majority vote of 288 to 127. The bill will allow corporations to share their users’ personal information with the government without the government needing a warrant beforehand. The bill will kill any privacy contracts that companies have with their users, the same contracts that ensure users that they will not share their personal information with anyone.”

Despite the House passage of the bill, PCMag’s David Murphy noted, “There are still some fairly significant hurdles before CISPA springs alive. Not only does the bill have to make its way through the Senate, it also has to survive a previously threatened veto by the White House.”