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Hacktivism & Civil Disobedience

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TomMendez

Hacktivism and Civil Disobedience Hacktivism, though preferred by hackers and hacktivists to be kept without a definition, is generally thought of as hacking for a political cause. Hackers, those who have deep knowledge and understanding of the Internet and computer systems and networks, thrive on the openness and freedom the internet provides. Steven Levy’s “Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution” published nearly three decades ago outlines the hacker’s creeds: 1. Access to computers should be unlimited and total. 2. All information should be free. 3. Mistrust authority – promote decentralization. 4. Hackers should be judged by their hacking not bogus criteria such as degrees, age, race, or position. 5. You create art and beauty on a computer. 6. Computers can change your life for the better. The operating system Linux, still widely used today, was created to conform to this ethical code. Linux pioneer Richard Stallman with the help of Linus Torvalds developed the GNU/Linux operating system. The software was made available under the General Public License, nicknamed “copyleft” (as opposed to copyright), meaning that the software was free to have and modify for anyone so long as users make the source freely available to others. This has created an open global community that “thrives on the free flow and sharing of information” (metac0m 1). Metac0m, the editor of The Hacktivist Magazine tells us “Hackers abhor censorship. Censorship is often seen as a human rights violation, especially when it is combined with a repressive, governing regime.” This is not a new concept. Hackers have been fighting the fight against oppressive governments which have limited their freedoms for decades now. Henry David Thoreau, although clearly no hacker, most definitely was one to stand against his own government when he felt clearly

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