A recent ruling by the British High Court forced UK internet service providers to block access to the infamous Pirate Bay, the web’s prime destination for swashbuckling torrentry and fringe Swedish politics. Yesterday, Virgin Media became the first ISP to abide by the law and blockade the port of PB. This incurred the wrath of the web hacking collective known as Anonymous, who could think of no better way to fight internet censorship than by dabbling in a bit of the stuff themselves. Except, you know, this time against THE MAN! Shortly after Virgin blocked The Pirate Bay, Anonymous responded by DDOSing the Virgin Media site into oblivion. TMT’s Conjecture Corner estimates that the hack prevented dozens of bored pub denizens from searching for new phones on their old phones and frustrated thousands more who had mistaken the site for pornography.
The Pirate Bay itself was quick to denounce the attacks, posting the following on their Facebook page:
Seems like some random Anonymous groups have run a DDOS campaign against Virgin media and some other sites. We’d like to be clear about our view on this:
We do NOT encourage these actions. We believe in the open and free internets, where anyone can express their views. Even if we strongly disagree with them and even if they hate us.
So don’t fight them using their ugly methods. DDOS and blocks are both forms of censorship.
There you have it, folks, a grounded response to fanatical Internet rage. Take a screenshot so you can remember this moment forever. Actually, we have another rather level-headed viewpoint for you, this time from the monsters themselves, Virgin:
As a responsible ISP, Virgin Media complies with court orders but we strongly believe that tackling the issue of copyright infringement needs compelling legal alternatives, giving consumers access to great content at the right price, to help change consumer behaviour.
So keep fighting the good fight, Anonymous! If you can’t have the Web, nobody can!
