[governance] WikiLeaks initiative to beat banking blockade (EFF, Wikileaks and Press Freedom... well done... )

[Riaz K Tayob]

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Published: December 17, 2012 23:06 IST | Updated: December 17, 2012 
23:20 IST


  WikiLeaks initiative to beat banking blockade

Hasan Suroor
This December 17, 2012 screen grab shows the home page of the Freedom of 
the Press Foundation site.
This December 17, 2012 screen grab shows the home page of the Freedom of 
the Press Foundation site.

WikiLeaks on Monday announced the launch of a new platform called the 
Freedom of the Press Foundation to beat the "the extra-judicial" banking 
blockade against it, and to promote "aggressive, public-interest 
journalism focused on exposing mismanagement, corruption and 
law-breaking in government".

It said the Foundation was an initiative of the Electronic Frontier 
Foundation (EFF), a U.S.-based non-profit digital rights advocacy group, 
and was backed, among others, by former Pentagon Papers whistleblower 
Daniel Ellsberg and actor John Cusack.

"They will crowd-source fundraising and support for organisations or 
individuals under attack for publishing the truth," it said.

WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange vowed to fight "this immoral 
blockade" which had led to 95 per cent of the contributions to the 
organisation being stopped.

"We've fought this immoral blockade for two long years. We smashed it in 
the courts. We smashed it in the Treasury. We smashed it in France. We 
smashed it in Germany. And now, with strong and generous friends who 
still believe in First Amendment rights, we're going to smash it in the 
United States as well", he said.

In a statement, WikiLeaks said its "running primary cash reserves" were 
down from more than a million dollars in 2010 to under a thousand 
dollars, as of December 2012, because of the blockade.

"Only an aggressive attack against the blockade will permit WikiLeaks to 
continue publishing through 2013. The new initiative, combined with a 
recent victory in Germany, means contributions to WikiLeaks now have 
tax-deductible status throughout the United States and Europe," it said.

Explaining how the system would work, it said: "The Foundation's first 
'bundle' will crowd-source funds for WikiLeaks, the National Security 
Archive, The UpTake and MuckRock News. Donors will be able to use a 
slider to set how much of their donation they wish each organisation to 
receive and can donate to WikiLeaks using their credit cards. The 
Foundation holds 501(c) charitable status, so donations are 
tax-deductible in the U.S. Other courageous press organisations will be 
added as time goes by. It will not be possible to see by banking records 
what portion of a donor's contribution, if any, goes to WikiLeaks."

John Perry Barlow, a board member of the Foundation, said the initiative 
aimed to achieve more than just crowd-sourced fundraising.

"We hope it makes a moral argument against these sorts of actions. But 
it could also be the basis of a legal challenge. We now have private 
organisations with the ability to stifle free expression. These 
companies have no bill of rights that applies to their action --- they 
only have terms of service", he said.

WikiLeaks says the blockade by Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, Western Union 
and a host of other financial institutions is "unlawful" and part of a 
"politically motivated" retaliation by American authorities against it 
for publishing leaked secret diplomatic cables.

"In heavily redacted European Commission documents recently released by 
WikiLeaks, MasterCard Europe admitted that U.S. Senate Homeland Security 
Chairman Joseph Lieberman and Congressman Peter T. King were both 
directly involved in instigating the blockade," it said.

Keywords: WikiLeaks 
<http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/wikileaks-initiative-to-beat-banking-blockade/article4210468.ece?css=print#>, 
banking blockade 
<http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/wikileaks-initiative-to-beat-banking-blockade/article4210468.ece?css=print#>, 
Freedom of the Press Foundation 
<http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/wikileaks-initiative-to-beat-banking-blockade/article4210468.ece?css=print#>, 
Electronic Frontier Foundation 
<http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/wikileaks-initiative-to-beat-banking-blockade/article4210468.ece?css=print#>, 
digital rights advocacy group 
<http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/wikileaks-initiative-to-beat-banking-blockade/article4210468.ece?css=print#>, 
Pentagon Papers 
<http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/wikileaks-initiative-to-beat-banking-blockade/article4210468.ece?css=print#>, 
Daniel Ellsberg 
<http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/wikileaks-initiative-to-beat-banking-blockade/article4210468.ece?css=print#>, 
John Cusack 
<http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/wikileaks-initiative-to-beat-banking-blockade/article4210468.ece?css=print#>


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WikiLeaks fights back in the face of financial blockade and arm-twisting 
<http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/wikileaks-fights-back-in-the-face-of-financial-blockade-and-armtwisting/article2567884.ece> 
Statements on financial blockade of WikiLeaks 
<http://www.thehindu.com/news/resources/statements-on-financial-blockade-of-wikileaks/article2567797.ece> 
Major exposes by WikiLeaks (2007-11) 
<http://www.thehindu.com/news/resources/major-exposes-by-wikileaks-200711/article2567878.ece> 
Financial Blockade: Chronology 
<http://www.thehindu.com/news/resources/financial-blockade-chronology/article2567793.ece> 

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Printable version | Dec 18, 2012 1:55:10 PM | 
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/wikileaks-initiative-to-beat-banking-blockade/article4210468.ece

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