Is it OK to be an Anonymous

Bibliographic Data

ID12866754
AuthorsPhilip Serracino-Inglott (Delft University of Technology, corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume6
Issue4
Pages22527-22527
Publication date2013-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEthics & Global Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1654-6369 • E-ISSN: 1654-4951
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.3402/egp.v6i4.22527
OpenAlexW1964615932
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited17

Do the deviant acts carried out by the collective known as Anonymous qualify as vigilante activity, and if so, can they be justified? Addressing this question helps expose the difficulties of morally evaluating technologically enabled deviance. Anonymous is a complex, fluid actor but not as mysterious as popularly portrayed. Under a definition of vigilantism that includes reprobative punishment rather than violence as a key element, Anonymous are vigilantes. Many of its Ops can be justified in view of the mismatch between formal norm enforcement practice and Internet natives' experience of it. Anons are more like eco-warriors than terrorists. While their actions are contentious, their force is framed in a vision of common good that is not unreasonable. Engaging with online deviants is shown to be a productive way of identifying the weaknesses in concepts underpinning moral evaluation of Internet-enabled phenomena

Computer security · Criminology · Deviance (statistics · Element (criminal law · Enforcement · Internet privacy · Law and economics · Norm (philosophy · Political science · Punishment (psychology · Sociology · The Internet · Underpinning · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies · Engineering · Ethics and Social Impacts of AI · Law · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Psychology · Social Psychology

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