What is the purpose of hacktivism? For online activism in general, the internet can be used for three major purposes:
1. The internet can be used to foster offline action
2. The internet can be used to make offline actions more efficient
3. The internet can be used to foster actions only conceivable online
The internet’s ability to reach multitudes of people through the click of a button makes it a very lucrative means of dispersing agendas that could be acted out in the offline world. Consider the Occupy movements that sprouted up throughout the country. Many of these organized protests created online forums and websites that made it easy for greater numbers of individuals to look up times for specific events, or create events of their own. While the online activity itself has no bearing in terms of political influence, it allows internet users to create action offline in a much more efficient way.
The internet can also be used to make offline action more efficient. While it may be more sentimental and personal to send a letter to a Congressman written in your own hand, it is arguably more efficient to send that same Congressman an e-mail instead. The internet can make time-consuming actions less strenuous by giving individuals speedier and more reliable options.
Thirdly, the internet may in fact be the only place where certain actions can even take place. This call to mobilize is unique in that online sources are the direct targets of activists. This could include, but not be limited to, the hacking of various political/interest organizations, the induced crashing of web-servers, or the “blackouts” exercised by websites such as Google, Wikipedia, etc.. Internet-oriented forms of civil disobedience are obviously only able to be conducted online — but, despite it’s lack of tangibility, politically oriented online action could potentially be more hard-hitting than it’s physical counterparts (and a lot safer too).
Nashville, Tennessee sit in during the civil rights era, source
It is within this third category of online action that hacktivism falls under. This electronic form of civil disobedience calls for action that immediately affects online environments. An early example of this form of activism is seen in the EDT’s (Electronic Disturbance Theatre) actions regarding the Zapatista revolution in Mexico. In order to create a greater awareness of the happenings in Mexico at the time, the EDT organized an online sit in, which, unlike the sit-ins of the civil rights era, were meant to effectively shut down websites by overloading web-servers. With the use of FloodNet, users executed “a Java applet configured to request and load the three target Web sites every three seconds” (Wired). This would essentially overwork the servers the targeted Website was connected to — making the website as a whole completely shut down. Similar actions were done when Wikileaks was first released by Julian Assange back in 2010.
The idea of decentralization and antagonism towards authority lead to hacktivist cultures having no main leader and a veil of anonymousness. Hacker conferences have sprung up in locations from Amsterdam to New York with thousands of attendees. One of the more well known hacktivist groups is called Anonymous. Technically it is impossible to join Anonymous because there is no leadership or ranks. Membership is as simple as just wanting to join
Hacktivists responded to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) by attacking the Department of Justice, which was subsequently shut down 70 minutes after the attack. This attack shut down many other websites including The FBI, Universal Music Group, the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America and more. The attack involved internet users who clicked on links being sent to chat rooms and on Twitter, some without their knowledge. It is clear that hactivists can play a major role in internet culture if they see something they believe should be free and is kept secured by government or capitalist authority.