A Startup Allegedly ‘Hacked the World.’ Then Came the Censorship—and Now the Backlash
Feb 6, 2024
auto_awesome
A startup accused of cyber mercenary activities in India faces legal threats and a growing backlash. Anti-censorship voices unite to expose the company's hacking past. The Electronic Frontier Foundation responds to legal threats, hoping to create a Streisand effect. The legal battle between the company and Reuters escalates, leading to censorship. The company's censorship attempts now backfire and result in a backlash.
A loose coalition of anti-censorship voices is working to expose the legal threats and censorship attempts made by App & Technology and its subsidiaries in an effort to make reports of their hacker-for-hire past disappear.
Resistance and attention to App & Technology's censorship attempts are growing, with media organizations and activists leveraging the Streisand effect to challenge and highlight the legal threats, potentially causing reputational harm to the company.
Deep dives
Alleged hacking startup faces censorship and backlash
A startup called App & Technology and its subsidiaries have allegedly engaged in cyber-mercenary activities. To keep their actions hidden, they launched aggressive censorship campaigns using lawsuits and legal threats to silence publishers reporting on their hacking past. Reuters complied temporarily with a court order to remove an article that detailed App & Technology's alleged illegal activities but is now fighting the order. However, resistance is building against the censorship efforts, with organizations like the Digital Rights Group and Electronic Frontier Foundation pushing back. Efforts like the Greenhouse Project aim to expose the censorship attempts and bring attention to App & Technology's past.
Efforts to expose App & Technology's history increase
Reuters conducted an investigation into App & Technology based on interviews, documents, and evidence. They revealed the company's explicit offers to hack targets for clients. After publishing the story, Reuters faced legal threats and eventually removed the article. Other outlets and platforms also succumbed to the same censorship pressure and removed their content. However, some organizations and individuals resisted, such as the New Yorker and security researcher Ronald Deibert, which may contribute to the backlash against App & Technology's censorship attempts.
Censorship backlash may harm App & Technology's reputation
The censorship campaign by App & Technology and its co-founder Rajat Kare may backfire as resistance and attention to their actions increase. The Freedom of the Press Foundation suggests that stirring up this issue may cause more reputational harm than good for App & Technology and Kare. Efforts from media organizations and activists aim to highlight the legal threats and put a spotlight on the censorship attempts, leveraging the Streisand effect to expose and challenge groups that aim to silence journalists.
A loose coalition of anti-censorship voices is working to highlight the legal threats aimed at making reports of one Indian company’s hacker-for-hire past disappear. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here.