ISP Sonic.net & Dane Jasper fought secret WikiLeaks court order! In a “Dane vs. Goliath” twist of the WikiLeaks saga, the Wall Street journal today reported that California-based ISP Sonic.net, led by CEO Dane Jasper, has put up an expensive fight against a secret US court order aimed at the contacts of Jacob Appelbaum. The order sought to require the ISP Sonic.net to turn over the emails and contacts of WikiLeaks volunteer and noted internet technologist Jacob Appelbaum. While unsuccessful in their legal response, Sonic.net CEO Dane Jasper commented that their costly investment in protecting the privacy of Sonic.net customers was “the right thing to do.”
As WikiLeaks and Bradley Manning story unfolds, there are a tremendous number of smaller stories emerging which highlight important issues, raise key legal questions and will also find a place in the memory of society, culture and law. These powerful stories may in fact be just as interesting to Wikileaks movie and film fans as Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. The include politicians such as Birgitta Jonsdottir and the outspoken creatives including WikiLeaks Truck Driver Clark Stoeckley and “wikivisionist” Michael Parenti (aka @exiledsurfer). And now, as companies ranging from Twitter and Google to PayPal appear to be relatively compliant with regards to WikiLeaks-related court orders, we are beginning to see smaller organizations such as Sonic.net and their CEO Dane Jasper mount vigorous defenses against legal tactics they feel impede the rights of internet users and citizens. While they may be unsuccessful in the short term against such mammoth foes, these principles-based stands may help the courts and policy-makers address the overarching, longer term questions related to consumer internet rights and freedoms.
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