Of course, the world now waits for the official response from Facebook. However, Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook's founder) doesn't exactly have a good track record on privacy ethics nor sharing his fortune with deserved others. So while it's hard to know what the truth actually is behind all of this (and if it is actually Anonymous behind it), it's not beyond the realm of possibility that Zuckerberg's company is capable of such heinous violations of users' rights and privacy. It's already apparent that Facebook has been instrumental in several arrests stemming from the recent London riots. Many might jump to defend the actions of government and police on this occasion, but there's no denying that we are on a very slippery slope here.
A deeper question arises as to what (if any) cooperation corporations must provide about their users without a warrant. Furthermore, what protects us as citizens against corporations that might choose to sell our information and then point to some embedded clause in the terms and conditions when your neighbour is arrested for something he might have done.
So what can we believe? It's hard to trust either side of this upcoming battle, to be honest....but I'll leave you with two quotes to ponder from one of the most enlightened authors in history:
Firstly: "Every war when it comes, or before it comes, is represented not as a war but as an act of self-defense against a homicidal maniac. "
Secondly: "During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."
If it is indeed Anonymous and this group, who had the power to take down the second most-recognized brand in the world, has discovered something sinister about a company that millions have put their trust into, would it not be appropriate to expose and destroy such an entity? Furthermore (if it is true, of course), will those who conspired with the entity stand in the way of its destruction or let it fall as the scapegoat of the largest international conspiracy of the information age?
The question is not if such a thing could happen - it is when. That time may already be upon us. I, for one, hope this whole thing (including the allegations) are a hoax.
EDIT: According to this article, a core group of Anonymous has denounced the threat to Facebook, saying that it is being organised by a splinter group. The following statement was made:
""We absolutely disown OpFacebook ... We're supposed to fight for the users, not against them. Don't violate private citizen privacy please...The old hats of Anonymous have decided to take stronger hold of the reins. We're taking Anon back. Time for sensible, focused discussion."
While this seems fair, it's a little confusing because it was not apparent that the original threat mentioned anything about violating citizen privacy...if anything, it was to take down services so that Facebook couldn't violate privacy itself. This indicates that either there's more to the threat than is known -or- perhaps some founding members of Anonymous are concerned about any backlash from the public based on the reactions from the Playstation Network outtage last spring. Either way, it would appear that Anonymous is no longer working cohesively or possibly, there are concerns about recent arrests over attacks by Lulzsec and some members are feeling a bit exposed.
Whatever the truth behind it all, it would seem that this story has not played out as yet.
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