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The government could just as well pinpoint the hosting provider, and pull some strings to take the site offline, then read through the captured database. When t

The government could just as well pinpoint the hosting provider, and pull some strings to take the site offline, then read through the captured database. When the stakes are nation-state level, quite a large amount of very disturbing things start to become practical. Shameless self plug: They should be using Aether. ( http://www.getaether.net http://www.getaether.net ) It's a distributed network that creates forum–like, anonymous and encrypted public spaces— something I created and launched a few days ago. It's an app I created for this express purpose. I don't sympathise (at all) with their views, but no one gets to choose who gets free speech and who doesn't.

comex 13y ago
This sounds like an interesting project, and you should submit it as a link, although I'd expect various concerns about security to be thrown around.
- rolleiflex 13y ago
  I did, about three times. Nobody looks at 'new', apparently :/
seszett 13y ago
Well, governments cannot usually "pull some strings" to take offline a website hosted in a foreign country (Sweden in this case). Except maybe the US, but even then some foreign hosts won't be very cooperative, especially when the purpose is to curb freedom of speech.
nraynaud 13y ago
The French government is simply keeping a tab on the individuals, not the electronic forum per se. Basically they let them say a lot of racist stuff and demonstrating, but they are checking that they are not colluding for an assassination (the Jacques Chirac scare is still in the memories) and that they are are not colluding for some big destruction. And they don't want them to demonstrate too close from the presidential Palace (ie Champs Élysée is off-limit), because the proximity tends to make everybody more crazy. One leftish guy got killed recently in a brawl, and the Government decided to dissolve the involved gang (the simple act of meeting together would be a crime now), without doing anything on the electronic or media level.
masklinn 13y ago
> The government could just as well pinpoint the hosting provider, and pull some strings to take the site offline, then read through the captured database. That would be counter-productive. The goal is to keep track of the individuals and ensure they don't endanger others or create social risks (assassinations[0], terror attacks, ...). By taking the site offline, you'd increase resentment, make them move to a new host of some sort or (worse) drive them underground completely and become unable to keep tabs on their activity. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Chirac#Assassination_attempt http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Chirac#Assassination_at...

comex 13y ago

This sounds like an interesting project, and you should submit it as a link, although I'd expect various concerns about security to be thrown around.

rolleiflex 13y ago
I did, about three times. Nobody looks at 'new', apparently :/

seszett 13y ago

Well, governments cannot usually "pull some strings" to take offline a website hosted in a foreign country (Sweden in this case). Except maybe the US, but even then some foreign hosts won't be very cooperative, especially when the purpose is to curb freedom of speech.

nraynaud 13y ago

The French government is simply keeping a tab on the individuals, not the electronic forum per se. Basically they let them say a lot of racist stuff and demonstrating, but they are checking that they are not colluding for an assassination (the Jacques Chirac scare is still in the memories) and that they are are not colluding for some big destruction. And they don't want them to demonstrate too close from the presidential Palace (ie Champs Élysée is off-limit), because the proximity tends to make everybody more crazy. One leftish guy got killed recently in a brawl, and the Government decided to dissolve the involved gang (the simple act of meeting together would be a crime now), without doing anything on the electronic or media level.

masklinn 13y ago

> The government could just as well pinpoint the hosting provider, and pull some strings to take the site offline, then read through the captured database. That would be counter-productive. The goal is to keep track of the individuals and ensure they don't endanger others or create social risks (assassinations[0], terror attacks, ...). By taking the site offline, you'd increase resentment, make them move to a new host of some sort or (worse) drive them underground completely and become unable to keep tabs on their activity. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Chirac#Assassination_attempt http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Chirac#Assassination_at...