Hacktivism is considered to be criminal by governments. In fact, some members of Anonymous and Lulzsec, which are hacktivist groups, were arrested in early March of 2012. However, although it may be illegal, hacktivism is a necessary evil in our society. Hacktivists bring awareness to issues and makes information available to the public. They help make sure that the corrupt officials and businesses get what they deserve. There are many articles disputing whether hacktivism is civil obedience or a cyber crime. Although the hacktivist approach may not always be moral, it’s an effective method of expressing opinions and combating problems.
To be sure, citizens of underdeveloped countries suffer the most from the evils that hacktivists try to destroy. They have to deal with many things that people in the US don’t have to deal with, such as wars between government and people, corrupt officials, and more. In the 2009 Iran elections, there were many allegations of vote rigging. When the new president was announced, many Iranians protested. Anonymous, along with The Pirate Bay, decided to help this cause by putting up a site that allowed Iranians to communicate with the outside world, even with the Iranian government trying to block it. Because of acts like this, many hacktivists have been put in jail. It is false logic to argue that hacktivists should be put in jail for attempting to solve problems and make matters right.
In addition to supporting underdeveloped countries, hacktivists also step in and take control of the situation when governments are not doing what the public thinks is ideal. This is exactly what was done with the Iran nuclear plant. Nobody was able to negotiate a deal with Iran for them to shut down the nuclear plant, so some hacktivists created a computer worm called Stuxnet. It had the ability to shut down large and complex industrial systems completely. It was intended to sabotage the nuclear plant, and was successful in slowing the processes of said plant. This action may have saved the lives of innocent people, but other actions like this one get hacktivists arrested. It does not make sense to argue that some hacks should be allowed, whereas others should be punished. Hacktivists should not be punished for making the world a safer and more equal place to live.
Citizens have had to deal with corrupt officials, rebel groups, and other problems for years; however, when hacktivists try to help stop the issues, they are arrested for their ‘criminal activities’. In spite of this, people continue to be hacktivists and make the world a better place by exposing the secrets and exploiting the corrupt. Actions must be taken against the punishing of hacktivists. Some ways to help this cause are to donate to the ‘Electronic Frontier Foundation’ or ‘WikiLeaks’, as these are both organizations that support hacktivism and the spreading of free knowledge. Writing to jailed hacktivists is also great motivation for them to keep going. For the sake of making the world a better place to live, hacktivists must be allowed to continue their operations.