A hacker group claiming to be the notorious Anonymous collective has
put up a YouTube video promising that it will declare war on the
Singapore government if it does not stand down from an internet
licensing framework that critics have said restricts freedom of speech.
The video, which surfaced online two days ago, was removed from
YouTube just minutes after it went viral on Facebook and Twitter today
with over 4,000 shares. The video, however, has been reposted on
Facebook, other channels on YouTube, and various video platforms.
The message goes: “the primary objective of our invasion was to
protest the implementation of the internet licensing framework by giving
you a sneak peak of the state of your cyberspace if the ridiculous,
communistic, oppressive and offensive framework gets implemented.”
It continues: “We have faced much larger and more secured
corporations such as the FBI and the NSA. Do you think the IDA will be a
problem for us? … so mark our words when we say that we Anonymous stand
firm on our belief that no Government has the right to deprive their
citizens the freedom of information.”
The video then called on “fellow Singaporean brothers and sisters” to
start a public protest by dressing in black and red on November 5 and
blacking out their Facebook profile pictures.
Announced in May this year, the framework mandates that news websites
exceeding 50,000 unique visitors in Singapore must put up a performance
bond of S$50,000, following existing practices by broadcasters in the
country. Ten online news sites, mostly government-related, were ordered
to apply for licenses, with sg.news.yahoo.com being the only
non-state-sanctioned site implicated.
Internet giants like Google, Facebook, and eBay have come out
strongly against the move, issuing a joint statement saying that “this
new regulation – and the regulatory trend that this may be indicative of
– could unintentionally hamper Singapore’s ability to continue to drive
innovation, develop key industries in the technology space and attract
investment in this key sector.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8x3z1zpffk&feature=player_embedded
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