CISPA: Anonymous weighs in

GlobalPost
The World

Anonymous has thrown its lot in with internet freedom activists standing against CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence and Sharing Act, according to a YouTube video posted by YourAnonMessage, the YouTube account associated with the leaderless collective.

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act quietly snuck out of committee amid the uproar over SOPA last December. While SOPA focused on enabling copyright holders and the US judiciary to fight what was deemed to be online piracy, CISPA centers on an information exchange between private companies and the US government to combat cyber security threats.

“In spite of our attacks on SOPA and PIPA and victory in destroying these bills, there is a new threat. CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection act of 2011. Those who have crafted this bill have now become sworn enemies of Anonymous,” said the video. 

The video also draws attention to the large number of corporations supporting CISPA. With SOPA, large companies like Google and Wikipedia joined grassroots internet activists in standing against the bill in the name of internet freedom. As CISPA enables private companies to receive classified cyber security information from the US government, corporations like Facebook and Microsoft are actively supporting the legislation. 

“The people have to stand with us, the companies will not this time as the bill conforms to them. It will not be the same for the people. This time, we will be on our own,” stated the video. 

In “Operation Defense” the video claims Anonymous will “unleash the worst pain on those that threaten our existence”, referring to the creators and supporters of CISPA.

Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.