Anonymous Turns Its Gaze To Virgin Media
By DavidReece • Apr 16th, 2008 • Category: Business & Technology, Feature, News
Not content with their campaign against the dangerous cult of scientology, internet activist group, Anonymous have turned their attention to an issue which affects more than just whacked-out celebrities - their latest target being Virgin Media CEO, Neil Berkett.
The issue of net neutrality resonates with a great majority of internet users, and has finally come to the attention of the group, after Berkett said in a recent statement..
“This net neutrality thing is a load of bollocks..”
..further going on to say that they would throttle the speed of content providers who fail to pay the ISP for services which put extra strain on the network such as streaming video, which understandably incited the anger of internet users and content providers alike, mirroring recent comments by the BBC’s Ashley Highfield, who headed-up the launch of the BBC’s bandwidth-hungry iPlayer, and responded with an article outlining ways in which ISPs and content providers should run their business.
Anonymous, a loosely organised group of internet users who have been wrongly dubbed as “cyber terrorists” and a “hacking group”, are using the wide support gleaned from their ongoing campaign against Scientology as a springboard to launch a co-ordinated campaign against Virgin Media, citing freedom of information as the primary motivation in this youtube video..
Virgin Media has also angered privacy groups over its proposed adoption of OIX / Phorm, an advertising network which actively spies on user browsing habits to deliver tailored advertising, which Anonymous seems to have neglected in their early statements against the ISP.
In response to Anonymous, I’d like to say the following…
While in principle you have the support of Startup Earth, if you want to make real changes and win the support of those who count, it takes more than releasing a few menacing videos. When you took to the streets against Scientology (for which I applaude you) the initial menace and intent was diluted by internet memes and an overall lack of seriousness.
If you want to win this one, drop the tired ‘Rick Rolling’ and demonstrate a real understanding of the underlying issues. Join privacy groups and let your protest be in writing, because if there’s one thing more menacing than a video, it’s a crowd of motivated and organised individuals who really know their stuff, and know what to do with it.
See also: BBC’s Arrogant response to iPlayer/ISP outrage, Anonymous declares war on Scientology, Phorm is watching you - Who’s watching Phorm?, BT to customers - We are dropping Phorm
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I don’t think the chronology is quite right here. Ashley’s blog post about the hidden costs of watching tv on broadband was published before the article written by Neil Berkett. It’s inaccurate to say that it is a response to Berkett’s article or to say that Ashley was “angry” about Berkett’s article. Ashley’s post is here - readers should judge for themselves:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2008/04/hidden_costs_of_watching_tv_on.html
Nick Reynolds (editor, BBC Internet Blog)
@Nick, you’re absolutely right. I wasn’t trying to imply a chronology here, in so much as draw a parallel between the concerns of Anonymous, and another article which covered Ashley’s response to the issue.
I’ve changed the wording to avoid any confusion.
I wonder why Anon are ignoring the whole Phorm issue? If they want to go after Virgin now, you’d think their “proposed phorm adoption” would be mentioned too. Net neutrality is an important issue, but phorm is far more pressing imo.
@Nick, is Ashley’s departure from the BBC connected to any of this or did he just get a better offer?
@David, stop bashing the BBC!
– “diluted by internet memes and an overall lack of seriousness”
– “drop the tired ‘Rick Rolling’ and demonstrate a real understanding of the underlying issues”
Finally, someone said it. The Anon/Sci protests were marred by stupidity. It was embarrassing to watch. The trouble with anonymity is that you can never be accountable for your views, or put your name where it counts. Who’s going to listen?
@Si — “stop bashing the BBC!”
That’s a little unfair. While I’m usually quite outspoken against the Beeb, I think I ‘bashed’ everyone except the BBC in this article, who I briefly referenced.
– “I wonder why Anon are ignoring the whole Phorm issue?”
Maybe it’s because their videos are just empty posturing? That’s my whole point. Still waiting for them to prove me wrong.
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