14 DAY TRIAL // The UK and US Pirate Parties have released a joint statement asking Anonymous to halt the Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks and focus on more legal methods of protesting.
It's been two months since Anonymous launched a DDoS campaign, dubbed Operation Payback, against entertainment industry associations and other organizations involved in anti-piracy efforts.
It all started when Aiplex Software, an Indian company paid by local and international film studios to get copyrighted content off the Internet, publicly boasted that it attacked torrent sites unresponsive to DMCA takedown notices.
Anonymous, a notorious group of Internet hactivists previously involved in campaigns against the Church of Scientology or the Australian government, immediately retaliated.
In its manifesto, the group states that it fights against the draconian copyright laws that serve only the interests of media corporations and which severely restrict the public's access to information.
These ideals are in line with the objectives of the Pirate Party movement, an international political movement aimed at defending civil rights in the digital age.
Many Pirate Parties modeled after the Swedish Piratpartiet, which has representation in the European Parliament, have already been established around the world.
"We, the undersigned, call upon you to immediately cease the Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks and to instead seek out a legal method to express your frustration and disquiet with the copyright industry, and their perversions of copyright law for personal gain," the Pirate Party UK and US wrote in an open letter to Anonymous.
"By continuing Operation:Payback attacks, you will hamper those who promote copyright reform and curtailment of abuses of copyright, but who do so within the bounds of the law.
"Instead of being able to argue for legislative reform of copyright on its own merits, they will be accused of defending criminals and promoting lawlessness," the letter warns.
"Please help those of us who care about your freedoms, your rights and your liberty, and choose a more moderate and legal way," the two Pirate Parties plea.
An Anonymous organizer confirmed for TorrentFreak that the group plans to honor the Pirates' request and halt DDoS activities immediately.
A recent Operation Payback attack against the United States Copyright Office has already attracted the attention of the FBI, which launched an investigation.