Althouse: "A French intelligence agency threatened a Wikipedia volunteer with jail unless he deleted an article with which he had no connection..."

April 8, 2013

"A French intelligence agency threatened a Wikipedia volunteer with jail unless he deleted an article with which he had no connection..."

"... but which the spooks found inconvenient. Not surprisingly, that article has been restored and is now really popular."

24 comments:

Achilles said...: What a wonderful link. If we had a free press instead of a propaganda mill people would know these things.; 4/8/13, 7:17 PM
BigFire said...: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect Streisan Effect in full force. It's even the last major item within that article.; 4/8/13, 7:18 PM
Drago said...: This could not possibly have happened under a socialist government. There must be some secret tea party members in the French government who are making it impossible to usher in the paradise on earth that the leftists promise.; 4/8/13, 7:21 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: Used'ta be a stone building with a semaphore on top. Wow. I'da like'd ta see that!; 4/8/13, 7:25 PM
jr565 said...: What is being posted on Wikipedia though?
How about if Wikipedia posted the addrsses of all gun owners in a certain neighborhood, or launch codes?; 4/8/13, 7:29 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: This article is actively undergoing a major edit for 60 minutes.

Its never been the same since Mike Wallace left.; 4/8/13, 7:31 PM
jr565 said...: It would kind of depend what is being posted before I said whether I was outraged that someone wanted it taken down.; 4/8/13, 7:33 PM
edutcher said...: The post refers to something government loves to do: you did nothing wrong, but we demand you never do it again/remove all trace, etc.

And then there's these:

The IRS has taken to poking through social media to sniff out folks who might not be complying with every jot and detail of the nation's extensive tax code.

Not content with letting the IRS hog all the creepy, the ATF is building a big database to track people's social connections.

2 great reasons to avoid social media like the plague.

PS If the truth were told completely, unemployment would be more than 11.1.

Wonder if that makes some phony folksy happy.; 4/8/13, 7:44 PM
Palladian said...: You are such a boot-licking little toady, jr565.

How about you tell us that copyright violation should be a criminal offense again?; 4/8/13, 7:45 PM
bagoh20 said...: I don't want it to get out or anything, so lets keep this on the down low, but just between you and me, I actually pay extra income tax and don't take all my deductions, just to be safe and sure that I pay more than my fair share.; 4/8/13, 8:20 PM
bagoh20 said...: Oh, and Mr. ATF guy, this right here is about the extent of my social connections, a bunch of wing nuts on a blog with a creamy hippy chick center - entirely harmless. The host doesn't even know who to vote for half the time, so it's pretty cruelly neutral, and not crazy teabaggers in bunkers, except for a few who actually tea bag just for the comradery and aesthetic appeal.; 4/8/13, 8:26 PM
kentuckyliz said...: Toutes les filles en France, ils portent des pantalons de papier de soie.; 4/8/13, 10:13 PM
jr565 said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/8/13, 10:18 PM
jr565 said...: Palladian wrote:
"You are such a boot-licking little toady, jr565.

How about you tell us that copyright violation should be a criminal offense again?"

whatever, Julian Assange.; 4/8/13, 10:19 PM
jr565 said...: Palladian wrote:
"How about you tell us that copyright violation should be a criminal offense again?"

a single copyright violation? No. Even if it technically illegal. But for owners of companies who allow for millions of files to e shared illegally. Hell yeah. Just as defrauding people should be a criminal offense.; 4/8/13, 10:23 PM
jr565 said...: Ok, KFC's recipe is a tade secret. If someone posted KFCs secret recipe on Wikipedia in the interest of making information free I'd say KFC has every right to demand that it be taken down. And the person who posted it should be prosecuted criminally AND sued in civil court.
Thats but one example, but I could find countless others.

If you want to post an article on the War of 1812, you have my blessings.

I; 4/8/13, 10:32 PM
jr565 said...: So Palladian, I guess you're ok with the News papers putting up a map of all the gun owners in a community on the web because the Internet should be free right?; 4/8/13, 10:35 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Its never been the same since Mike Wallace left.

Nobody falls for my traps.; 4/9/13, 12:33 AM
jr565 said...: The copy left tards seem to have this standard of unlimited access to information, yet get outraged at the slightest intrusion to their privacy.
Even the first amendment has provisions for not allowing you to yell fire in a crowded theater. It's not absolute. Yet somehow simply because its on the Internet it's somehow crazy to assume that state secrets should remain secret.
We give people security clearances for a reason. Or that a companies intellectual property should be open
And available to anyone smart enough to get past their security.
I just provided a few examples where I would think a website should be forced to take down info. Launch codes, businesses closely guarded secrets. Maps to peoples homes who happen to own guns. Or how about palladians credit card number?
If we had a wiki of palladians personal info I bet he'd ask that it be taken down.
Which I guess means that he too would want to know what information was being posted before he got outraged that someone asked to take it down too.; 4/9/13, 1:07 AM
Cody Jarrett said...: apparently jr565 didn't bother to read the back story before he got froggy.

No one said anything about launch codes, putz (well, other than you). The wikipedia article in question is basically public information, someone just got their panties bunched.

Apparently palladian struck a nerve though, huh guvmint boy.; 4/9/13, 6:55 AM
Paco Wové said...: "What is being posted on Wikipedia though ... launch codes?"

All sorts of stuff. Similar concerns are noted here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Nuclear_weapon_design#Are_you_all_insane?; 4/9/13, 8:28 AM
jr565 said...: CEO-MMP wrote:
No one said anything about launch codes, putz (well, other than you). The wikipedia article in question is basically public information, someone just got their panties bunched.

Apparently palladian struck a nerve though, huh guvmint boy.

I never said it was or that I was necessarily for the French govt doing this in this particular case. If you read my point again I said I want to know what is being posted before I get all outraged at the thought of someone demanding it be taken down. And then I cited examples where it would clearly be right and proper to have a page taken down.
Julian assange posted a lot of stuff that should not have been posted. And there should be repercussions to both him and his organization for doing so.; 4/9/13, 8:39 AM
jr565 said...: CEO-MMP wrote:
CEO-MMP wrote:
No one said anything about launch codes, putz (well, other than you). The wikipedia article in question is basically public information, someone just got their panties bunched.

Apparently palladian struck a nerve though, huh guvmint boy.

so, if wikipedia published something that was not public information that a govt wanted taken down you'd be ok with it?
How is that different than the point I made? Dick.; 4/9/13, 10:38 AM
Crunchy Frog said...: Its never been the same since Mike Wallace left.

Yeah, the Steelers really need to find themselves another deep threat.; 4/9/13, 6:25 PM