Scientology and the Internet
This article needs to be updated.(December 2018) |
Scientology and the Internet | |||
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Part of denial of service attacks | |||
Status | ongoing | ||
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Lead figures | |||
There are a number of disputes concerning the Church of Scientology's attempts to suppress material critical of Scientology and the organization on the Internet, utilizing various methods – primarily lawsuits and legal threats, as well as front organizations.[1][2][3] In late 1994, the organization began using various legal tactics to stop distribution of unpublished documents written by L. Ron Hubbard. The organization has often been accused of barratry through the filing of SLAPP suits.[4][5][6] The organization's response is that its litigious nature is solely to protect its copyrighted works and the unpublished status of certain documents.
Various critics of the Church of Scientology have characterized the organization as a
alt.religion.scientology
Scott Goehring set up the
The online battle is generally regarded as having begun with the arrival of Dennis Erlich to alt.religion.scientology in late July 1994. A former high-ranking official in the Scientology organization who had been personally affiliated with L. Ron Hubbard, he caused a number of regular participants in the newsgroup to sit up and take notice.[10]: 4, 6 [11]
The Xenu revelation
On December 24, 1994, the first of a large number of anonymous messages was posted to alt.religion.scientology, containing the text of the "secret" writings of Scientology known as the OT Levels (OT stands for "Operating Thetan"). Included among these postings was OT III (Operating Thetan Level Three), which gave L. Ron Hubbard's description of the "Xenu story".
The Xenu story had been published in the Robert Kaufman book
The first postings of the OT documents were done through an anonymous remailer, and the identity of the person who made them available on the newsgroup was never discovered. However, Dennis Erlich posted replies to these messages on the newsgroup, and his replies contained the entire text of the original messages (including the disputed materials). Scientology's lawyers therefore approached him, declaring that Erlich had re-published the copyrighted works in his newsgroup messages. Erlich's reply to this was to deny their requests to remove his postings from the newsgroup.
Attempt to remove alt.religion.scientology
On January 11, 1995, Scientology lawyer
(1) It was started with a forged message; (2) not discussed on alt.config; (3) it has the name "scientology" in its title which is a trademark and is misleading, as a.r.s. is mainly used for flamers to attack the Scientology religion; (4) it has been and continues to be heavily abused with copyright and trade secret violations and serves no purpose other than condoning these illegal practices.[10][14]
In practice, this
Raids and lawsuits
Shortly after the initial legal announcements and rmgroup attempt, representatives of Scientology followed through with a series of
The first raid took place on February 13, 1995.
In addition to filing lawsuits against individuals, Scientology also sued the
Participants in alt.religion.scientology began using quotes from OT III in particular to publicize the online battle over the secret documents.[19] The story of Xenu was subsequently quoted in many publications, including news reports on CNN[20] and 60 Minutes.[21] It became the most famous reference to the OT levels, to the point where many Internet users who were not intimately familiar with Scientology had heard the story of Xenu, and immediately associated the name with Scientology. The initial strikes against Scientology's critics settled down into a series of legal battles that raged through the courts. The Electronic Frontier Foundation provided legal assistance to defendant Tom Klemesrud and his attorney Richard Horning helped find Dennis Erlich pro bono defense. Daily reports of the latest happenings were posted to alt.religion.scientology.
In the wake of the Scientologist actions, the Penet remailer, which had been the most popular anonymous remailer in the world until the Scientology "war" took place, was shut down. Johan Helsingius, operator of the remailer, stated that the legal protections afforded him in his country (Finland) were too thin to protect the anonymity of his users and he decided to close down the remailer as a result.[22][23][24]
Scientology's online campaign
After failing to remove the newsgroup, Scientologists adopted a strategy of newsgroup spam and intimidation.[25] Scientologists hired third parties to regularly flood the newsgroup with pro-scientology messages, vague anti-scientology messages, irrelevant comments, and accusations that other posters are secret Scientologists intent on tracking and punishing posters. This makes the newsgroup virtually unreadable via online readers such as Google Groups, although more specialized newsreading software that can filter out all messages by specific "high noise" posters make the newsgroup more usable.
While legal battles were being fought in the courts, an equally intense and aggressive campaign was waged online. The newsgroup alt.religion.scientology found itself at the heart of an electronic maelstrom of information and
In the early days of the
Since 1995, Scientology has used copyright-infringement laws to prosecute critics posting controversial information about the organisation on the Web. The organization has been accused of employing not only legal pressure, but also
In the 1990s the Church of Scientology was distributing a
In June 2006, Scientology lawyers sent
In August 2007,
Project Chanology
In early 2008, another protest against the Church of Scientology was organized by the Internet-based
On January 14, 2008, a video produced by the Church of Scientology featuring an interview with Tom Cruise was leaked to the Internet and uploaded to YouTube.[34][35][36] The Church of Scientology issued a copyright violation claim against YouTube requesting the removal of the video.[37] In response to this, Anonymous formulated Project Chanology.[38][39][40][41] Calling the action by the Church of Scientology a form of
On January 21, 2008, Anonymous announced its goals and intentions via a video posted to YouTube titled "Message to Scientology", and a press release declaring a "War on Scientology" against both the Church of Scientology and the Religious Technology Center.[41][43][44] In the press release, the group states that the attacks against the organization will continue in order to protect the right to freedom of speech, and to end what they believe to be the financial exploitation of the organization's members.[45] A new video "Call to Action" appeared on YouTube on January 28, 2008, calling for protests outside Church of Scientology centers on February 10, 2008.[46][47]
On February 2, 2008, 150 people gathered outside of a Church of Scientology center in Orlando, Florida to hold a protest against the organization's practices.[48][49][50][51] Small protests were also held in Santa Barbara, California,[52] and Manchester, England.[49][53] On February 10, 2008, about 7,000 people protested in more than 93 cities worldwide.[54][55][56] Many protesters wore Guy Fawkes masks inspired by the character
WikiLeaks
In March 2008,
Notable legal actions
A few of the court cases ended with rulings in favor of Scientology, though most of the cases were settled out of court. Many cases have been criticized as examples of malicious litigation and its members and lawyers have been indicted and fined for such actions. Noteworthy incidents in the later years of the online war included:
- Scientology's lawsuit against ex-member Arnaldo Lerma, his provider Digital Gateway, and The Washington Post. Lerma posted the Fishman Affidavit that contained 61 pages including the story of Xenu, a story simultaneously denied and claimed as a trade secret by the Church of Scientology.[10]: 9
- Zenon Panoussis, a resident of Sweden, was also sued for posting Scientology's copyrighted materials to the Internet. In his defense, he used a provision of the Swedish Parliament and, by law, copies of all documents (with few exceptions) received by authorities are available for anyone from the public to see, at any time he or she wishes. This, known as the Principle of Public Access (Offentlighetsprincipen), is considered a basic civil right in Sweden. The case, however, was decided against Panoussis. The results of his case sparked a legal firestorm in Sweden that debated the necessity of re-writing part of the Constitution.[62][63]
- In 1995 Scientology caused a raid on the servers of Dutch Internet provider XS4ALL and sued it and Karin Spaink for copyright violations arising from published excerpts from confidential materials. There followed a summary judgment in 1995, full proceedings in 1999, an appeal in 2003[64][65] which has been upheld by the Supreme Court of Netherlands in December 2005, all in favor of the provider and Karin Spaink.[66]
- Dennis Erlich and Scientology settled their lawsuits. Erlich withdrew from the online battle entirely, and all mention of him was removed from Church of Scientology material.[10]: 1, 4, 6–9 [28]
- Activist : 10
- Scientology was one of the first organizations to make use of the AT&T Worldnet to reveal the identity of a person who had been posting anonymously to alt.religion.scientology with the pseudonym of "Safe".[68]
- In March 2001, legal threats from Scientology lawyers forced Slashdot to remove text from one of its discussion boards, after an excerpt from OT III was posted there. Slashdot noted this as the first time a comment had to be removed from its system due to copyright concerns, and retaliated by posting a list of links to anti-Scientology websites.[69]
- The organization also used the DMCA to force the
- In September 2002, lawyers for Scientology contacted Internet Archive (archive.org), the administrators of the Wayback Machine and asserted copyright claims on certain materials archived as historical contents of the Operation Clambake site. In response, the Wayback Machine administration removed the archive of the entire Clambake site, initially posting a false claim that the site's author had requested its removal. A search would return a "Blocked Site Error" from the Wayback archive. The claim has since been removed.[71]
See also
- Andreas Heldal-Lund
- Chilling effect
- List of trademarks owned by the Church of Scientology and its affiliates
- Project Chanology
- Scamizdat
- Scieno Sitter
- Scientology and law
- Scientology controversies
- Sporgery
- Streisand effect – a similar situation
- Church of Scientology editing on Wikipedia
References
- ^ Critics split over DDoS attacks on Scientology The Register, 25 January 2008
- ^ Internet group launches War on Scientology, following YouTube video Canadian Content, 23 January 2008
- ^ Kent, Stephen A.; Krebs, Theresa (1988). "When Scholars Know Sin: Alternative Religions and Their Academic Supporters" (PDF). Skeptic. 6 (3): 36–44. Retrieved June 6, 2006.
- FECRIS. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
The Pattinson v. Scientology case had to be dismissed when Scientology engaged in barratry and drove Michael Pattinson, and me, into bankruptcy.
- ^ Behar, Richard (May 6, 1991). "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power". Time. Archived from the original on February 25, 2007. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
Hubbard warned his followers in writing to 'beware of attorneys who tell you not to sue... the purpose of the suit is to harass and discourage rather than to win.' Result: Scientology has brought hundreds of suits against its perceived enemies and today pays an estimated $20 million annually to more than 100 lawyers. One legal goal of Scientology is to bankrupt the opposition or bury it under paper.
- ^ Ortega, Tony (June 24, 2008). "Scientology's Crushing Defeat". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on July 9, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
In 1985, Scientologists filed a separate lawsuit based on federal anti-racketeering laws (a RICO action) in U.S. district court ... The federal court threw out the lawsuit ... calling it frivolous and 'bordering on malicious.'
- ^ Jacobsen, Jeff. Medical claims within Scientology's secret teachings, 1996
- ^ O'Connor, Mike. "How Scientology claims to cure physical illness", 2003
- ^ NOTS34: criminality successfully protected by copyright law, Tilman Hausherr (1998)
- ^ ISBN 0-8147-3103-1. Retrieved June 11, 2006.
- ^ a b
Wired magazine. p. 3. Retrieved July 19, 2007.
His critical posts, with quotations from the church literature, turned alt.religion.scientology from debating club to battlefield.
- ^ The Un-Funny Truth about ARS alt.religion.scientology, 3 September 2010
- ^ Prendergast, Alan (October 4, 1995). "Hunting rabbits, serving spam: The net under siege". Denver Westword. Village Voice Media. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
- ^ "Rmgroup message from Helena K. Kobrin". January 11, 1995. Archived from the original on August 24, 2005. Retrieved September 2, 2005.
- ^ "The Church of Scientology tries to shut down alt.religion.scientology". Archived from the original on January 20, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
- ^ "The Church of Scientology vs. Dennis Erlich, Tom Klemesrud & Netcom".
- ^ Ryan, Nick (March 23, 2000). "The Gospel of the Web". The Guardian; Technology. London. Retrieved October 12, 2007.
- ISBN 9781982185763.
- ^ Rashleigh-Berry, Roland. "The XENU Leaflet" (download in various formats). Operation Clambake.
- ^ "Church of Scientology protects secrets on the Internet". CNN. August 26, 1995.
- ^ Lesley Stahl, 60 Minutes, (December 28, 1997) "The Cult Awareness Network". CBS News.
- ^ "The Church of Scientology vs. Anon.penet.fi". Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
- ^ Prendergast, Alan (October 4, 1995). "Stalking the Net". Denver Westword News. Village Voice Media. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
- ^ Helmers, Sabine (September 1, 1997). "A Brief History of anon.penet.fi". CMC Magazine. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
- ^ a b Jones, Colman (July 4, 1996). "Freedom Flames Out on the 'Net - Who launched the largest-ever sabotage of the Internet?". NOW. Archived from the original on January 29, 2008. Retrieved December 3, 2006.
- ^ Lippard, Jim; Jacobsen, Jeff (1995). "Scientology v. the Internet: Free Speech & Copyright Infringement on the Information Super-Highway". Skeptic. 3 (3). The Skeptics Society: 35–41. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
- ^ a b Brown, Janelle (July 15, 1998). "A Web of their own". Salon. Archived from the original on October 15, 2015.
- ^ a b Freedom Magazine, Vol 27, Issue 4: A Crime By Any Other Name. See "Dennis Erlich: Copyright Terrorist". (Archived January 16th, 1999.)
- CNet. Archived from the originalon July 7, 2009. Retrieved December 12, 2006.
- ^ New online tool traces Wikipedia edits: PCs in Scientology officialdom removed criticism in Church's entry, NBC News, Associated Press, Brian Bergstein, August 15, 2007
- ^ Wal-Mart, CIA, ExxonMobil Changed Wikipedia Entries, August 16, 2007, Fox News, Rhys Blakely, Fox News Network, LLC.
- ^ a b c Shea, Danny (May 29, 2009). "Wikipedia Bans Scientology From Site". The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
- ^ a b Metz, Cade (May 29, 2009). "Wikipedia bans Church of Scientology". The Register. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
- ^ Radar Magazine. Archived from the originalon March 23, 2008. Retrieved March 18, 2008.
- National Nine News. Archived from the originalon September 21, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
- ^ KNBC Staff (January 24, 2008). "Hacker Group Declares War On Scientology: Group Upset Over Church's Handling Of Tom Cruise Video". KNBC. Archived from the original on August 21, 2008. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
- CNET News. CNET Networks, Inc. Archived from the originalon January 27, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
- Canwest Publishing Inc. Archived from the originalon January 28, 2008. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
- CondéNet, Inc.Retrieved January 25, 2008.
- ^ Feran, Tom (January 24, 2008). "Where to find the Tom Cruise Scientology videos online, if they're still posted". The Plain Dealer. Newhouse Newspapers. Archived from the original on January 28, 2008. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
- ^ a b Chan Enterprises (January 21, 2008). "Internet Group Declares "War on Scientology": Anonymous are fighting the Church of Scientology and the Religious Technology Center" (PDF). Press Release. PRLog.Org. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
- ^ Matthew A. Schroettnig; Stefanie Herrington; Lauren E. Trent (February 6, 2008). "Anonymous Versus Scientology: Cyber Criminals or Vigilante Justice?". The Legality. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
- ^ Thomas, Nicki (January 25, 2008). "Scientology and the internet: Internet hackers attack the church". Edmonton Sun. Sun Media. Archived from the original on January 29, 2008. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
- ^ Dodd, Gareth, ed. (January 25, 2008). "Anonymous hackers vow to "dismantle" Scientology". Xinhua News Agency. Agencies. Archived from the original on January 28, 2008. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
- ^ Brandon, Mikhail (January 28, 2008). "Scientology in the Crosshairs". The Emory Wheel. Emory University. Archived from the original on May 15, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ Feran, Tom (January 31, 2008). "The group Anonymous calls for protests outside Scientology centers - New on the Net". The Plain Dealer. Newhouse Newspapers. Archived from the original on June 19, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2008.
- CNET News. CNET Networks, Inc. Retrieved January 28, 2008.
- ^ Braiker, Brian (February 8, 2008). "The Passion of 'Anonymous': A shadowy, loose-knit consortium of activists and hackers called 'Anonymous' is just the latest thorn in Scientology's side". Newsweek. Newsweek, Inc. pp. Technology: Newsweek Web Exclusive. Retrieved February 9, 2008.
- ^ a b Barkham, Patrick (February 4, 2008). "Hackers declare war on Scientologists amid claims of heavy-handed Cruise control". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved February 3, 2008.
- ^ Staff (February 3, 2008). "Group Lines Road To Protest Church Of Scientology". WKMG-TV. Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2008.
- ^ Eckinger, Helen; Gabrielle Finley, Katherine Norris (February 3, 2008). "Anti-Scientology group has protest rally". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on February 6, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2008.
- ^ Standifer, Tom (February 4, 2008). "Masked Demonstrators Protest Against Church of Scientology". Daily Nexus. University of California, Santa Barbara. pp. Issue 69, Volume 88. Archived from the original on April 20, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2008.
- Radar Online. Radar Magazine. Retrieved February 4, 2008.
- ^ Carlos Moncada (February 12, 2008). "Organizers Tout Scientology Protest, Plan Another". TBO.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
- News Limited. Archived from the originalon February 15, 2008. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
- News Limited. Archived from the originalon October 6, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2008.
- ^ Harrison, James (The State News) (February 12, 2008). "Scientology protestors take action around world". Retrieved February 14, 2008.
- ^ Forrester, John (February 11, 2008). "Dozens of masked protesters blast Scientology church". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 15, 2008.
- National Nine News. ninemsn. Retrieved March 20, 2008.
- News Limited. Archived from the originalon March 20, 2008. Retrieved March 20, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e "Watchdog Web Site Draws Legal Threats from Scientologists, Mormons". Fox News. June 19, 2008.
- ^ Macavinta, Courtney (September 15, 1998). "Short Take: Scientologists win Net court case". CNET. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2007.
- ^ Macavinta, Courtney (March 30, 1999). "Scientologists settle legal battle". CNET. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2007.
- ^ Hines, Matt (September 8, 2003). "Scientology loss keeps hyperlinks legal". CNET. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2007.
- ^ Libbenga, Jan (September 8, 2003). "Scientologists loses copyright case". The Register. Retrieved August 10, 2007.
- ^ Final Victory! XS4ALL and Karin Spaink Win Scientology Battle, Press Release, December 16, 2005
- San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved August 11, 2007.
- ^ Goodin, Dan (June 3, 1999). "Scientology subpoenas Worldnet". CNET. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2007.
- ^ "Scientologists Force Comment Off Slashdot". Slashdot. March 16, 2001. Retrieved September 5, 2007.
- ^ "Google Begins Making DMCA Takedowns Public".
- ^ a b Bowman, Lisa M. (September 24, 2002). "Net archive silences Scientology critic". CNET. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
Further reading
- Scientology v. the Internet: Free Speech & Copyright Infringement on the Information Super-Highway, Skeptic vol. 3, no. 3, 1995, pp. 35–41, Jim Lippard and Jeff Jacobsen.
- Grossman, Wendy M. (December 1, 1995). "alt.scientology.war". Wired. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
- Bjorhus, Jennifer (August 26, 1995). "Scientology Critics Claim Harassment For Using Internet". Seattle Times. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
External links
- BBC video: Scientology v The Internet May 15, 1995
- EFF Electronic Frontier Foundation "Legal Cases - Church of Scientology" Archive Archived 2017-02-02 at the Wayback Machine
- Scientology Video
- Anonymous site stating why they protest
- Briefing prepared by the Church about the Church of Scientology and the internet
- 'RTC v. Dennis Erlich Stipulated Final Judgement and Permanent Injunction
- "How Scientology changed the internet" – 2013 article from BBC News