BreadBros
22nd January 2007, 17:55
http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/leak...l?s_cid=rss_smh (http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/leaking-like-a-sieve-website-offers-untraceable-whistleblowerschance-to-go-global/2007/01/19/1169095977590.html?s_cid=rss_smh)
THE internet could become even more difficult for governments to regulate with a new website, Wikileaks, promising to provide a safe haven for whistleblowers to upload confidential documents.
Although the website says its primary interests are oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet Bloc, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, whistleblowing experts say it could have strong applications in Australia.
Kim Sawyer, an associate professor at the University of Melbourne and the vice-president of Whistleblowers Australia, said the website would "give us a mechanism to get stories out more into the international arena". Dr Sawyer said whistleblower protection laws were "just cosmetic", and cases such as the AWB kickbacks scandal could have been exposed faster if there were avenues to air issues anonymously.
The open-government advocate Steve Aftergood, who writes the Federation of American Scientists' Secrecy News blog, fears that Wikileaks' "indiscriminate disclosure" policy could result in potentially damaging documents, such as a nation's defence plans, being made public.
The Wikileaks spokeswoman said more that 1 million documents were awaiting publication.
The official website (no documents uploaded yet): http://wikileaks.org/index.html
Main page statement:
Your concept looks terrific and I wish you the best of luck with it. -- Daniel Ellsberg (2007)
Wikileaks is developing an uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis. Our primary interests are oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we also expect to be of assistance to those in the west who wish to reveal unethical behavior in their own governments and corporations. We aim for maximum political impact; this means our interface is identical to Wikipedia and usable by non-technical people. We have received over 1.2 million documents so far from dissident communities and anonymous sources.
We believe that transparency in government activities leads to reduced corruption, better government and stronger democracies. Many governments would benefit from increased scrutiny by the world community, as well as their own people. We believe this scrutiny requires information. Historically that information has been costly - in terms of human life and human rights. Wikileaks will facilitate safety in the ethical leaking movement.
Wikileaks opens leaked documents up to a much more exacting scrutiny than any media organization or intelligence agency could provide. Wikileaks will provide a forum for the entire global community to examine any document for credibility, plausibility, veracity and falsifiability. They will be able to interpret documents and explain their relevance to the public. If a document comes from the Chinese government, the entire Chinese dissident community can freely scrutinize and discuss it; if a document arrives from Iran, the entire Farsi community can analyze it and put it in context. Our first sample analysis is available from the news page, providing a look into the future of what Wikileaks can provide.
In its landmark ruling on the Pentagon Papers, the US Supreme Court ruled that "only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government." We agree.
The ruling stated that "paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people and sending them off to distant lands to die of foreign fevers and foreign shot and shell."
We believe that it is not only the people of one country that keep their government honest, but also the people of other countries who are watching that government. That is why the time has come for an anonymous global avenue for disseminating documents the public should see.
Sounds like some interesting reading, I cant wait. Lets hope its not bogged down in propaganda and the such.
THE internet could become even more difficult for governments to regulate with a new website, Wikileaks, promising to provide a safe haven for whistleblowers to upload confidential documents.
Although the website says its primary interests are oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet Bloc, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, whistleblowing experts say it could have strong applications in Australia.
Kim Sawyer, an associate professor at the University of Melbourne and the vice-president of Whistleblowers Australia, said the website would "give us a mechanism to get stories out more into the international arena". Dr Sawyer said whistleblower protection laws were "just cosmetic", and cases such as the AWB kickbacks scandal could have been exposed faster if there were avenues to air issues anonymously.
The open-government advocate Steve Aftergood, who writes the Federation of American Scientists' Secrecy News blog, fears that Wikileaks' "indiscriminate disclosure" policy could result in potentially damaging documents, such as a nation's defence plans, being made public.
The Wikileaks spokeswoman said more that 1 million documents were awaiting publication.
The official website (no documents uploaded yet): http://wikileaks.org/index.html
Main page statement:
Your concept looks terrific and I wish you the best of luck with it. -- Daniel Ellsberg (2007)
Wikileaks is developing an uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis. Our primary interests are oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we also expect to be of assistance to those in the west who wish to reveal unethical behavior in their own governments and corporations. We aim for maximum political impact; this means our interface is identical to Wikipedia and usable by non-technical people. We have received over 1.2 million documents so far from dissident communities and anonymous sources.
We believe that transparency in government activities leads to reduced corruption, better government and stronger democracies. Many governments would benefit from increased scrutiny by the world community, as well as their own people. We believe this scrutiny requires information. Historically that information has been costly - in terms of human life and human rights. Wikileaks will facilitate safety in the ethical leaking movement.
Wikileaks opens leaked documents up to a much more exacting scrutiny than any media organization or intelligence agency could provide. Wikileaks will provide a forum for the entire global community to examine any document for credibility, plausibility, veracity and falsifiability. They will be able to interpret documents and explain their relevance to the public. If a document comes from the Chinese government, the entire Chinese dissident community can freely scrutinize and discuss it; if a document arrives from Iran, the entire Farsi community can analyze it and put it in context. Our first sample analysis is available from the news page, providing a look into the future of what Wikileaks can provide.
In its landmark ruling on the Pentagon Papers, the US Supreme Court ruled that "only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government." We agree.
The ruling stated that "paramount among the responsibilities of a free press is the duty to prevent any part of the government from deceiving the people and sending them off to distant lands to die of foreign fevers and foreign shot and shell."
We believe that it is not only the people of one country that keep their government honest, but also the people of other countries who are watching that government. That is why the time has come for an anonymous global avenue for disseminating documents the public should see.
Sounds like some interesting reading, I cant wait. Lets hope its not bogged down in propaganda and the such.