Anonymous Has Joined Tunisian Activists To Help Fight The Government's Stifling Of Online Dissent

[Turborama]

Tunisia's Bitter Cyberwar: Anonymous has joined with Tunisian activists to call for end to the government's stifling of online dissent.
Yasmine Ryan

Thousands of Tunisians have taken to the streets in recent weeks to call for extensive economic and social change in their country.

Among the fundamental changes the protesters have been demanding is an end to the government's repressive online censorship regime and freedom of expression.

That battle is taking place not just on the country's streets, but in internet forums, blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter feeds.

The Tunisian authorities have allegedly carried out targeted "phishing" operations: stealing users passwords to spy on them and eradicate online criticism. Websites on both sides have been hacked.

Anonymous, the loosely-knit group of international web activists that drew world attention for their "distributed denial of service" (DDoS) attacks on the servers of companies that blocked payments and server access to the whistle-blowing website, WikiLeaks, joined the fray, in solidarity with the Tunisian uprising.

Most international news organisations have no presence in the country (and, some say, a lack of interest in the protests). Media posted online by Tunisian web activists has been some of the only material that has slipped through the blackout, even if their videos and photos haven't generated quite the same enthusiastic coverage by Western media as the Iranian protest movement did in 2009.

MUCH more: http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/01/20111614145839362.html

Click below for a lot of background articles, videos and photo gallery about the current unrest & http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/01/20111415114167177.html">here for an interactive protest map
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/spotlight/tunisia/">