Indio:Bravo//

Internet strikes back: Anonymous' Operation Megaupload explained

Given that Megaupload boasts an audience of 500 million users daily, a reaction was expected. Only minutes after the Web began digesting the news, that response came by way of thousands of upset users, many aligned to the online collective Anonymous.

The attack started swift and strong and only grew. First fell the website the US Department of Justice, justice.gov. Next was the site for Universal Music Group, a SOPA supporter and the largest record label in America.

Over the course of a few hours, hacktivists involved with the loose knit group Anonymous waged attacks on site after site, and before long the web presence for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Broadcast Music, Inc., or BMI, and finally FBI were down.

Anonymous calls it the single largest Internet attack in its history, and it crippled the biggest sites for the US government and entertainment industry.

To those close to Thursday’s campaign, it not only was a necessity but it was only the first step in a battle that’ll continue for a while to come.

I’m all for the stand against these bills that will prohibit the free sharing of knowledge. Heck I share a lot of things on tumblr every week. BUT there is a thin line between FREEDOM and ANARCHY. The former imbues duty and self-discipline, both of which make one deserving of such freedom (to borrow words from Rizal). The latter (anarchy) however is emotional, hard to control and frequently blurs personal ‘rights’ with responsibility. May we learn the hard lessons of history. Have we forgotten the uncontrolled passions of the French Revolution, the bloodiest revolution in human history? Anonymous’ hacking clearly sent a message to the authorities, but with that, what have we exchanged it for? The rule of the mob, the disrespect of the laws and institutions, the erosion of authority. Hindi porket marami, tama. I support what Wiki, Google, Facebook and Twitter did. It clearly sent the message to those concerned. They blocked their own sites, announced their advocacy to their respective areas of influence, and they blocked their own logos with black smudges/boxes. But what they did did not erode the very institutions that guard our freedoms. In fact, more than giving millions of people a glimpse of a world without free knowledge, it also gave weight to the very principles that these institutions represented.

Very ironic since many have been wearing V’s mask inspired by the film V for Vendetta in support of these hactivists. Do you remember how the said movie ended? It ended with the explosion of the Westminster Abbey, a symbol of authority. But what the film did not tell us was what happened next. I’m guessing, its chaos, loss of order… yep, anarchy.