The following is an excerpt from Devin Coldewey | October 13, 2012 | msnbc.com |
The controversial WikiLeaks service has lost what some might consider a powerful ally after the site restricted access to leaked information behind a donation paywall. The hacker collective known as Anonymous called the paywall “wholly unethical” and has withdrawn its support.
WikiLeaks added a large element to their site on Wednesday that obscured the content and asked that visitors donate money or share the site on Twitter or Facebook. It would disappear after a set time limit, but could not be closed or skipped except by means most users would not be familiar with. Anonymous, in a document posted to their “AnonPaste” site, reports they immediately contacted WikiLeaks but the paywall was soon up all over the site.
Henceforth, their statement reads, Anonymous will no longer work in WikiLeaks’ favor — something which has put several of their own members in prison, they said. They added that they will not attempt to hack or deface the site (“We do not attack media”), though they said they will be releasing a “detailed dossier” of WikiLeaks actions they deem unacceptable.
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