As if the Belgian government didn’t have enough people against its very existence, yesterday a site claiming to be linked to Anonymous, censorthis.be sent out a mass email declaring cyber war on the Belgian government. Claiming that the government is “actively blocking internet sites on the web, without even a trace of transparency,” Anonymous says that, on June 15th, they will “liberate the Belgian Web”. The entire email, sent from anonymousbelgium@gmail.com, has been transcribed below:
Your Belgian government is actively blocking internet sites on the Web, without even a trace of transparency.
The Web is not made for such restrictions. Censorship is a dangerous answer to social issues.
Information and a transparent strategy should form the true plan of approach.
Blocking internet websites are a costly, useless and blunt measure.We’ve had enough. On June 15, we will liberate the Belgian Web.
While there has not been many reports or allegations that have made media headlines regarding Belgian censorship, Google did recently sign an agreement with Belgian publishers ending a 6-year feud between the two. While the above accusation likely refers to what it sees as covert attempts to control the flow of information in Belgium, it is unlikely that anything crippling will happen on June 15th. Previous threats to the public sector have seen Anonymous attack the city of Orlando, Florida by taking town a series of country public sites.
The discordant Belgian government is not likely to take measures to react to this threat – back in 2011 the country of Belgium set a world record for the longest elapsed time without an official government (cf: Wikipedia).