There are a few things to keep in mind that can negatively impact an anonymous LLC. In November 2010, WikiLeaks began publishing hundreds of thousands of leaked US diplomatic cables. In the face of legal threats against the organization by the U.S. government, Amazon.com WikiLeaks started from its servers, and PayPal, MasterCard and Visa cut service to the organization. [77] Operation Payback was later expanded to include “Operation Vengeance Assange,” and Anons issued a press release declaring PayPal the target. [78] Anons launched DDoS attacks with LOIC and quickly shut down PayPal blog websites; PostFinance, a Swiss financial company that denies services to WikiLeaks; EveryDNS, a web hosting company that had also declined the service; and the website of U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, who had supported the campaign to shut down services. [79] Instead of communicating with their real names, these individuals speak using pseudonyms (aliases) or anonymously (no name at all). For these individuals and the organizations that support them, secure anonymity is crucial. It can literally save lives. It is not illegal to join Anonymous as you cannot register. Officially, there is nothing to join, although the collective gives instructions to join. If one thing is clear, it is that there is no clarity.
State and federal courts will continue to issue a hodgepodge of conflicting opinions that offer little consistency or certainty for online speech. The U.S. Supreme Court, which is the final arbiter of all constitutional issues, has not ruled on the right to anonymous speech online. Lower courts were forced to guess the correct constitutional outcome based on the Supreme Court`s recent opinion on anonymous speech, a 2002 case involving a municipal requirement for door-to-door lawyers to provide a permit stating their name. It`s worth noting that there shouldn`t be any legal consequences if you join Anonymous or chat with others claiming your affiliation, but once you get into using the LOIC, there`s a good chance you`ll consider jail time. In its initial form, the concept was embraced by a decentralized online community that acted anonymously and coordinated, usually towards a vaguely agreed goal and focused primarily on entertainment. Since Project Chanology in 2008 – a series of protests, pranks and hacks against the Church of Scientology – the Anonymous collective has become increasingly associated with collaborative hacktivism on a range of international issues. Those claiming to associate with Anonymous protested and took other action (including direct action) in retaliation for copyright-focused campaigns by trade associations in the film and recording industries.
Subsequent targets of anonymous hacktivism were government agencies in the United States, Israel, Tunisia, Uganda and others; the Islamic State; child pornography websites; copyright authorities; Westboro Baptist Church; and companies such as PayPal, MasterCard, Visa and Sony. Anonymous has publicly supported WikiLeaks and the Occupy movement. Related groups LulzSec and Operation AntiSec have carried out cyberattacks against the United States. Government agencies, media, businesses, military contractors, military personnel and police officers, which has led to increased law enforcement attention to the groups` activities. [ref. needed] In “The United States of Anonymous: How the First Amendment Shaped Online,” author Jeff Kosseff examines two cases, Dentrite International, Inc. v. Doe No. 3, 775 A.2d 756 (N.J.
App. Div. 2001) and Cahill v. Doe, 879 A.2d 943 (Del. Super. Ct., 14. June 2005), in which courts recognized relatively strong First Amendment presumptions on behalf of anonymous speech providers, particularly for those who are expressions of opinions rather than blatant lies, while recognizing that the government sometimes has the right to identify such speakers if they have used their platforms to harass, engaging in defamation or sexual exploitation, making real threats, or allowing foreign governments to influence U.S. elections. In Maine, lawmakers took an interest in BlueLeaks with details about the Maine Information and Analysis Center under investigation. The leaks showed that the fusion center was spying on and keeping records on people who had legally protested or were “suspicious” but had not committed any crime. [181] The documents also contain reports on other countries of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Department of State and other agencies. Officials discussed cyberattacks from Iran and concerns about further attacks in early 2020. [182] Another report discusses possible Chinese espionage activities at natural gas facilities. [183] Homeland Security also discussed Russian interference in the U.S. election, attempts to hack the 2020 census, and manipulation of social media discussions. [184] This system has changed in recent years, both at the state and federal levels. In 2014, two laws were passed in Delaware that hire companies registered in the name of the state, someone who knows the rightful owners, but the rightful owners can still be another anonymous company.