The changing face of protests in the digital age: on occupying cyberspace and Distributed-Denial-of-Services (DDoS) attacks

Argyro P. Karanasiou
2014 International review of law computers & technology  
On 7th January 2013 the Anonymous hacking collective launched a White House petition asking the Obama administration to recognize DDoS 1 attacks as a valid form of protest, similar to the Occupy protests. The 'Occupy' movement against financial inequality has become an international protest phenomenon stirring up the debate on the legal responses to acts of civil disobedience. At the same time, online attacks in the form of DDoS are considered by many as the digital counterparts of protesting.
more » ... hile the law generally acknowledges a certain level of protection for protesting as a manifestation of the rights to free speech and free assembly, it is still unclear whether DDoS attacks could qualify as free speech. This paper examines the analogies between offline protests and DDoS attacks, discusses legal responses in both cases and seeks to explore the scope for free speech protection. By claiming public space for a public purpose, OWS (Occupy Wall Street) has increased the freedom for all of us to take political action. Remaining confrontational but non-violent, OWS has exposed the criminalization of peaceful protest in this city and created a space for all of us to exercise our right to speak up and act up. 2 Such protests have now been joined by an emergent form of contemporary protesting: online protests. The Internet has been instrumental in the success and outreach of the Occupy protests: online social networking platforms have facilitated discussion and brought together many of the movement's supporters. At the same time, the internet has
doi:10.1080/13600869.2014.870638 fatcat:nj6w7cw5ozauzi5noxvhtppvzq