Anonymous calls for internet blackout to protest CISPA

Published time: April 21, 2013 16:39 
Edited time: April 22, 2013 09:10

A mass blackout of internet sites has begun in protest of CISPA, as the controversial law makes its way to the US Senate. Hacktivist group Anonymous urged support for the blackout, storming Twitter with calls for action.

Anonymous has been calling on all websites to blackout their pages ever since the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) passed the US House of Representatives on Thursday.

At least 347 websites joined the protest on Monday, blacking out their internet pages. Sitehackersnewsbulletin.com published a list of the participating websites.

In a statement posted on Pastebin.com, the group has asked all the internet users to dedicate “at least a portion” of their day to help in the fight against CISPA.

If signed into action, the law would allow the US government to extract private information from the internet without a warrant. It would also prevent anyone from suing companies for delivering such information.

“It’s the online equivalent of allowing a police officer to enter your home and start rummaging through your personal files without the permission of a court,” Anonymous compares.

However, the group also stressed the blackouts were necessary to attract attention, while the most important part was spreading awareness about the disputed law, and possible action against it.

FULL STORY: