History
Julian Assange, editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks organization, is an Australian citizen who believes in transparency and freedom of the press (Trevino, 2015). At sixteen years old, Assange was arrested and prosecuted for a computer hacking incident. After his arrest, he turned his talents towards the internet, and in 2006, he was the spokesperson and founder of WikiLeaks.
WikiLeaks is a not-for-profit media organization that was initiated in 2006 for the purposes of releasing classified government documents. In 2007, the organization officially launched their website to the public (Ray, 2014). Julian Assange upholds certain ethical principles in WikiLeaks such as not releasing false or untruthful information to the public. Furthermore, …show more content…
The current United States stance is that "WikiLeaks is taking advantage of vulnerabilities caused by increase intra-government agency data sharing mandated in the wake of the 9/11 attacks..." (Greenmeier, Larry, 2010). But, what can the United States Government do to actually shut down WikiLeaks as a whole? When the idea of shutting down WikiLeaks came afoot, Assange made a statement alluding to the presence of a "dead man's switch" which would release key encrypted 'insurance' files to the …show more content…
The United States Justice Department thought of summoning Wikileaks due to the Espionage Act of 1917. Though, the First Amendment made this complicated (freedom of the press). Also, the constitution protects publishers if they did not unlawfully obtain the information but rather just publicized the information. Law enforcement has tried to charge Julian Assange for swindling private government information as well. This approach was found complex since it is not physical property. It is inapt to deem Wikileaks responsible for the distribution of illicit information. Questions and investigations are still pondered when it comes to the Wikileaks scandal. However, Julian Assange has been arrested. (Johnson, Courtney
Julian Assange, editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks organization, is an Australian citizen who believes in transparency and freedom of the press (Trevino, 2015). At sixteen years old, Assange was arrested and prosecuted for a computer hacking incident. After his arrest, he turned his talents towards the internet, and in 2006, he was the spokesperson and founder of WikiLeaks.
WikiLeaks is a not-for-profit media organization that was initiated in 2006 for the purposes of releasing classified government documents. In 2007, the organization officially launched their website to the public (Ray, 2014). Julian Assange upholds certain ethical principles in WikiLeaks such as not releasing false or untruthful information to the public. Furthermore, …show more content…
The current United States stance is that "WikiLeaks is taking advantage of vulnerabilities caused by increase intra-government agency data sharing mandated in the wake of the 9/11 attacks..." (Greenmeier, Larry, 2010). But, what can the United States Government do to actually shut down WikiLeaks as a whole? When the idea of shutting down WikiLeaks came afoot, Assange made a statement alluding to the presence of a "dead man's switch" which would release key encrypted 'insurance' files to the …show more content…
The United States Justice Department thought of summoning Wikileaks due to the Espionage Act of 1917. Though, the First Amendment made this complicated (freedom of the press). Also, the constitution protects publishers if they did not unlawfully obtain the information but rather just publicized the information. Law enforcement has tried to charge Julian Assange for swindling private government information as well. This approach was found complex since it is not physical property. It is inapt to deem Wikileaks responsible for the distribution of illicit information. Questions and investigations are still pondered when it comes to the Wikileaks scandal. However, Julian Assange has been arrested. (Johnson, Courtney