Electrohippies
The Electrohippies Collective (Ehippies) is an international group of internet activists based in Oxfordshire, England, whose purpose is to express disapproval of governmental policies of mass media censorship and control of the Internet "in order to provide a 'safe environment' for corporations to do their deals."[1]
Significant actions
Against the WTO, 1999
The protest against the
Their claim was disputed by staff of Conxion, the ISP hosting the conference website, who deployed a
The Ehippies justified their campaign tactic as enabling tens of thousands of remote computer users to join the Seattle protest action. They pointed out that the action could not have worked without the support of sufficient people—purporting to demonstrate that there was significant support for their action.[2]: p.77
Against the IMF/WB, 2000
As a follow-up to their WTO action, the Ehippies and volunteers tried to shut down the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank websites by a "virtual sit-in" in conjunction with 'real world' protests in Washington, D.C. in April 2000. Some 5000 online participants were able to cause only intermittent slowdowns on those sites.[2]: p.25
Response to 'anti-terror' laws
The collective was forced to subside temporarily into inaction by the British government's The Terrorism Act 2000 and The Regulation of Investigatory Power Act 2000, perceived as significantly changing the right of British citizens to freely use the internet for political and protest action.[1] Now it "focusses on the use of technology by activists, mainly through organising workshops and quietly assisting 'behind the scenes' of other campaigns. Current campaigns are the "Simple" energy-focused campaign and the "Browser Alert" campaign against proprietary software abuses and Digital rights management.
See also
- World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1999
- WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 protest activity
- 1998 MAI failure
- 30 Frames a Second: The WTO in Seattle 2000 Documentary film shot in 1999 and released in 2000
- Yes Men's cyber attack on the WTO
- Zippie Internet Invasion of the UK
- Anonymous, hacktivist group of American origin
References
- ^ a b Cyberlaw UK: Civil rights and protest on the Internet Archived 2008-07-25 at the Wayback Machine(PDF) December 2000 communiqué of Electrohippies Collective
- ^ a b c Jordan T & Taylor P Hactivism and Cyber War, Rebel with a Cause? Routledge, New York 2004
- ^ Radcliff D Hack Back Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine 29 May 2000
External links
- Ehippies: the free range electrohippies project (1996-2009—open copyright licensed)
- Defining Lines: Breaking Down Borders Ehippies essays