5 ms·

The headline is a little misleading. DataCell, Wikileaks hosting provider, actually won a case against the local company Valitor, VISA's issuer and processor in

by beggi 14y ago

The headline is a little misleading. DataCell, Wikileaks hosting provider, actually won a case against the local company Valitor, VISA's issuer and processor in Iceland. Also in case you're wondering as I was, Wikileaks was not awarded compensatory damages but Valitor must reopen their payment gateway within 2 weeks (although they can still appeal to a higher court).

tokenadult 14y ago
The source of the submitted article, rt.com, is not known for careful journalism. I'll check what other sources say about the full implications of the case. After edit: Now I've had time to check some other news sources. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/lawyer-wikileaks-wins-icelandic-court-victory-in-financial-fight-against-visa-mastercard/2012/07/12/gJQAe0kPfW_story.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/lawyer-wikileaks-wins... "The implications of the judgment, which Valitor plans to appeal, weren’t immediately clear. "Even if Valitor is eventually forced to comply with the judgment, it isn’t clear whether Visa or MasterCard would allow their customers to make donations to DataCell or WikiLeaks. Both companies have refused to deal with WikiLeaks for the better part of two years, leading to allegations that they had bowed to U.S. pressure to starve the organization of funds." http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/07/wikileaks-visa-blockade/ http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/07/wikileaks-visa-bloc... "The Associated Press reports that Valitor can appeal the decision, but even if it chooses to comply with the judgment, it’s not clear that Visa or MasterCard will still allow customers to make donations to DataCell or WikiLeaks."
- maratd 14y ago
  > The source of the submitted article, rt.com, is not known for careful journalism. Understatement of the year.
  - alexqgb 14y ago
    Remember, that's "R" as in "Russia", which really isn't a region renowned for reliable reporting.
    - ZeroMinx 14y ago
      As opposed to the United States of Murdoch (?!)
      - tptacek 14y ago
        Yes. Because Fox News exists, US journalism is totally no more reputable than Russian journalism.
        zecho 14y ago
        Without even mentioning Fox News or any Murdoch/Newscorp-owned properties, one could still make a strong case for a sorry state of journalism in the United States.
        tptacek 14y ago
        I'm sure you're right, and that Washington reporters live in a constant state of fear that if they delve too deeply into Obama or Romney's affairs, someone will shoot them to death on a train platform.
        chunkyslink 14y ago
        land of the free (ish)
        thwest 14y ago
        Death threats aren't the only thing a government can do to reduce the reliability of the press. Whistle blower prosecutions, contempt of court charges for journalists protecting sources, NYT shelving articles until after elections, the tiptoeing the white house press corps does as to not lose access, etc. All of these indicate reduced reputation of the press in the USA. The US of Murdoch comment was a brash characterization, but how does rehashing the state of Russian press address the idea that US news sources lack reliability? All news sources should be treated with skepticism, Russian or not.
mtgx 14y ago
Didn't the Court say that Visa stopped like $20 million worth of donations to Wikileaks? What would be the reason for not giving them any compensation?

by beggi 14y ago

tokenadult 14y ago

The source of the submitted article, rt.com, is not known for careful journalism. I'll check what other sources say about the full implications of the case. After edit: Now I've had time to check some other news sources. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/lawyer-wikileaks-wins-icelandic-court-victory-in-financial-fight-against-visa-mastercard/2012/07/12/gJQAe0kPfW_story.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/lawyer-wikileaks-wins... "The implications of the judgment, which Valitor plans to appeal, weren’t immediately clear. "Even if Valitor is eventually forced to comply with the judgment, it isn’t clear whether Visa or MasterCard would allow their customers to make donations to DataCell or WikiLeaks. Both companies have refused to deal with WikiLeaks for the better part of two years, leading to allegations that they had bowed to U.S. pressure to starve the organization of funds." http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/07/wikileaks-visa-blockade/ http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/07/wikileaks-visa-bloc... "The Associated Press reports that Valitor can appeal the decision, but even if it chooses to comply with the judgment, it’s not clear that Visa or MasterCard will still allow customers to make donations to DataCell or WikiLeaks."

maratd 14y ago
> The source of the submitted article, rt.com, is not known for careful journalism. Understatement of the year.
- alexqgb 14y ago
  Remember, that's "R" as in "Russia", which really isn't a region renowned for reliable reporting.
  - ZeroMinx 14y ago
    As opposed to the United States of Murdoch (?!)
    - tptacek 14y ago
      Yes. Because Fox News exists, US journalism is totally no more reputable than Russian journalism.
      - zecho 14y ago
        Without even mentioning Fox News or any Murdoch/Newscorp-owned properties, one could still make a strong case for a sorry state of journalism in the United States.
        tptacek 14y ago
        I'm sure you're right, and that Washington reporters live in a constant state of fear that if they delve too deeply into Obama or Romney's affairs, someone will shoot them to death on a train platform.
        chunkyslink 14y ago
        land of the free (ish)
        thwest 14y ago
        Death threats aren't the only thing a government can do to reduce the reliability of the press. Whistle blower prosecutions, contempt of court charges for journalists protecting sources, NYT shelving articles until after elections, the tiptoeing the white house press corps does as to not lose access, etc. All of these indicate reduced reputation of the press in the USA. The US of Murdoch comment was a brash characterization, but how does rehashing the state of Russian press address the idea that US news sources lack reliability? All news sources should be treated with skepticism, Russian or not.

mtgx 14y ago

Didn't the Court say that Visa stopped like $20 million worth of donations to Wikileaks? What would be the reason for not giving them any compensation?