...on the Internet, the code is the law.
— Lawrence Lessig, Stanford Law School professor
Hacktivism is the writing of code, or otherwise manipulating bits, to promote political ideology. Taking Lessig's message to heart, hacktivism believes that proper use of code will have leveraged effects similar to regular activism (or civil disobedience). Fewer people can write code, but code affects more people.
Freenet is a prime example of translating political thought (anyone should be able to speak) into code.
Hacktivismo is an offshoot of the CULT OF THE DEAD COW, whose beliefs include access to information as a basic human right. Oxblood Ruffin, the self appointed "foreign affairs" minister of Hacktivismo, has argued forcefully against definitions of hacktivism that include web defacements or denial-of-service attacks.
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