Mandy's+Contribution

Hacktivism is defined as hacking for political use. It includes hacking, phreaking and creating technology in order to achieve a political or social goal. (what is hactivism pdf)
 * Definition of hacktivism **

**Hacktivism: the activists perspective** //A voicing channel// The injustices in the current system means that the dominant powers have the louder voice and the interests of the minority groups are ignored. For instance, in the case of government consultation, how often are the minority heard? Internet forums that are supposed to allow for fair hearing from different groups, minority can get shouted down or crowded by more popular views or dominant powers. From activists point of view, it is just fair that and in line with human rights that they get a listening ear. The lack of channels for these ones to make their voices heard is the main motivation behind hacktivism.

//Distinguished from terrorist attacks// Take Honker as an example, it has been noted that Honkers have not committed any terrorists attacks. However, they have attacked other organisations that appear to have been disrespectful to their country. One example was the hacking of a Japanese website following the Japanese' removal of what the Chinese considered as historical fact. Honkers hacked the website and left a message to indicated more respect to China is required. This is a perfect example of the activists mind-set: the searching of communication channel to put a message across. (Lecture Notes) //Human rights, fairness and entitlement to equality// It should also be noted that the underlying factor is also strongly related to the perceived deprivation of human rights or fairness or entitlement. In the case of Honkers, it is the perceived or real humiliation of one's country and the right to belong to a dignified nation (lecture notes). In the cases of the Arab Spring, it is the government surveillance, censorship and oppression that forces the people to vent their anger and sort freedom through the technical world (Shalhoub-Kevorkian, N, 2011). //Political Ideology// It is part of human rights to have freedom of speech and freedom to protest. It is also the fundamental principal of democracy to ensure the voices of the minority is also heard. Therefore, hacktivism, distinguished from terrorism, should be considered as a means used by people for their voices to be heard, and not criminal offence.

//Comparable to Offline Protests// More notably, if offline protests that may cause disturbance to local businesses (especially those located in the protest areas) can be legal, why should it be different in the online world? Denial of service may be considered detrimental to a business because it is barring access to the business. But how is this different to offline legal protests where potential customers cannot access the businesses because they cannot get through the crowds? Likewise, offline protests such as union workers going on strike can be considered destructive to business, to government and to the economy. Nonetheless, it is legal. Why? Therefore, in order to definitively state that hacktivism is a crime, one must also state that activism is a crime. //Is Hacking a crime in itself?// The other method of prosecution may be stating hacking is a crime. If the hacking activity involves the stealing of confidential/copyrighted material without consent, these actions are covered by commercial laws and data protection act. The liability of these cases varies from one case to another. In some cases, the person attempting to access and reuse the information is liable, in other cases, the data owner is held liable for not securely protecting the data. In these cases, the liability varies.

//Denial of Service// In the case of denial of service, the act of visiting the websites is not an offence anfd therefore should not result in prosecution.