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Scientology’s War on the Internet
To understand the danger of Scientology’s most recent censorship attack,
it is necessary to know about its previous attacks. Scientology’s war on
the Internet began in 1994 and has been a well-documented scandal.
Scientology has tried to censor critics by shutting down web sites,
raiding critics’ homes, hiring private investigators, and bringing
lawsuits against web hosts, Internet service providers, and cult
awareness organizations. The newsgroup alt.religion.scientology (a.r.s.)
has been a target of attack through mass cancellations of valid postings
followed by mass postings of unwanted spam, and through attempts to
remove it from Usenet altogether. Here is a brief history of Scientology
Internet abuse:
1.Operation Cancelbunny: Scientology censors alt.religion.scientology
Alt.religion.scientology (a.r.s.) has been one of the most active
newsgroups on the Internet, a place where pro- and anti-Scientology
netizens hotly debate each other. Beginning in 1994, Scientology
operatives began tampering with a.r.s. by surreptitiously canceling
postings critical of itself. The source of unauthorized cancellations
came to be known as the Cancelbunny, although the Cancelbunny project
really involved a number of cancelers. The Cancelbunny (or
Cancelbunnies) deleted hundreds of messages using their email accounts
at a variety of service providers, including Netcom, Deltanet,
University College in Dublin, Ireland, Directnet, Kaiwan, and NetVoyage.
All providers responded swiftly to determine the identities of the
unauthorized cancelers and terminate their accounts. A group of netizens
even joined forces to track down the Cancelbunny; they called themselves
the Rabbit Hunters.
While the efforts of the Rabbit Hunters and Internet service providers
slowed the Cancelbunny and forced it to jump around quite a bit, the
bunny was still going actively in April 1995, 17 months after beginning
its cancellations, and still appears from time to time now three years
later.
2.Operation Delete a.r.s.: Scientology attempts to off the newsgroup
In January 1995 Scientology attorney Helena Kobrin unilaterally
instructed Usenet servers to delete the whole a.r.s. newsgroup. Kobrin
sent emails to the servers with the "remove" instruction usually used to
delete newsgroups. Fortunately, her instruction was not followed, and
three years later a.r.s is still very active.
3. Operation Raid: Scientology raids Internet users’ homes
Scientology’s 1995 raids of Internet users’ homes comprise one of the
most atrocious chapters in the history of Scientology’s censorship war
on the Internet. A great deal of information surrounds the raids.
Briefly:
*February: Scientology raided the home of former Scientologist Dennis
Erlich, seizing numerous items including computers and disks. Erlich "
along with Tom Klemesrud, the operator of his bulletin board system
(BBS) and Netcom, his Internet service provider " was subsequently sued
by Scientology for "copyright infringements."
*Early August: Scientology raided the home of former Scientologist Arnie
Lerma for posting to the Internet a widely-available federal court
document known as the Fishman Papers. The papers included excerpts of
Scientology’s "secret scripture." Scientology then sued Lerma, his
service provider Digital Gateway Systems, and even the Washington Post
for including 46 words from the Fishman Papers in an article on the
incident.
*Late August: Again claiming copyright infringement, Scientology raided
the home of Lawrence Wollersheim and Bob Penny, the then-directors of
FACTNet, a nonprofit BBS (now a web site). With federal marshals
standing by, Scientology seized computers, disks, files, and more.
Naturally, Scientology then sued FACTNet.
*September: "Scientology agents, accompanied by a locksmith, local
police, and two U.S. `computer experts', entered the premises of XS4ALL
(xs4all.nl), an Internet service provider in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Scientology demanded that XS4ALL remove a copy of the Fishman Papers
from a customer's web page. (XS4ALL refused to do so.) Dutch Internet
users protested Scientology's action by putting over 100 copies of the
Fishman Papers on web sites all over the country. Scientology responded
to this cyber-civil-disobedience campaign by suing four Dutch Internet
service providers (including XS4ALL) as well as well-known Dutch writer
Karin Spaink, who helped initiate the campaign. They withdrew this
lawsuit on December 12, but filed a much larger suit, against 23
separate parties, on January 31. A court hearing was held on February
26, and a verdict was rendered on March 12, giving a total victory to
the defendants." [Written by Scientology critic Ron Newman].
4.Operation Anonymous Remailer: Scientology sues and squashes
Starting in January 1995 Scientology launched an attack against
anonymous remailers and posters. In January a letter was sent to
anonymous remailers demanding they not allow anonymous postings to
a.r.s. or alt.clearing.technology. At this point, such prominent
entities such as Electronic Freedom Foundation, the Los Angeles Times,
and the Washington Post reported Scientology’s Internet abuses.
Later, in the Spring of 1996, in an attempt to attack anonymous postings
by "Scamizdat," Scientology filed suit against a.r.s. poster Grady Ward
and then Keith Henson. In connection with the suit, the Finnish
anonymous remailer anon.penet.fi was ordered to reveal the identities of
two of its users. The remailer’s administrator, Julf Helsingius, refused
to disclose the names. Instead, on August 22, 1996, he closed
anon.penet.fi, an action that shocked the Internet and was widely
reported in the media.
5.Operation Spam Attack: Scientology clogs a.r.s.
Scientology’s abuse of a.r.s continued via a new method from May to
December 1996. During this time, Scientology bombarded a.r.s. with
thousands of spam messages taken verbatim from the Scientology web site.
This action paralyzed the purpose and effective use of the newsgroup.
6. Operation Netizen: Scientology threatens netizens at large
Scientology has sent numerous emails to Netizens threatening litigation
for posting even short excerpts of Scientology’s copyrighted material,
despite the fact that copyright law allows such excerpting. Netizens and
their families have received threats by email and fax, visits by
Scientologists and private investigators, and slanderous phone calls.
Most recently, early in 1998 web hosts Tilman Hausherr and Ray Randolph
were threatened with litigation. Scientology considers Hausherr’s parody
of "$cientology" and Randolph’s domain name www.scientology-kills.net
infringements of the Scientology trademark. To most observers, it seems
that both uses are legal, since Hausherr’s parody and Randolph’s domain
name constitute satire and commentary on Scientology rather than
attempts to be mistaken for Scientology. The latter would be trademark
infringement; but it would be difficult for anyone to mistake
"$cientology" or "scientology-kills" for Scientology. Randolph has
received the support of the ACLU and EFF, both of which will handle his
litigation if Scientology follows through on its threat.
Negative reaction to Scientology’s war on the Internet has been loudly
expressed by a large and varied group of individuals and organizations.
Netizens, Internet service providers, and other net-dependent
corporations such as search mechanisms should be outraged that
Scientology has hampered the smooth operation of the Internet through
false cancellations and spam. People and organizations concerned with
censorship such as EFF are concerned that Scientology so blatantly and
automatically attempts to censor those who criticize it. Internet
critics whose homes were raided and their property confiscated question
what free speech means in supposedly free nations.
Despite vocal and powerful opposition to Scientology’s Internet abuses,
and the fact that each censorship attempt resulted in even more
widespread flaming anti-Scientology postings, Scientology has continued
its Mafia-like tactics. One might hope Scientology had learned its
lesson by now. Not so. As of this month, it has launched its newest
censorship attack.
Scientology’s Newest Attack
Scientology’s next escapade has just begun and might turn out to be the
most abusive ever. The City of Night reports that Scientology’s new plan
is to send Internet web site templates to 116,000 Scientologists, so
that the Scientologists can set up pages that appear to be their
personal home pages. City of Night says, "Church officials hope that by
creating many, many web sites that link to Scientology's home page,
Scientology can clog search engines and prevent information critical of
the Church from reaching those interested in learning all about
Scientology." [City of Night, March 19 - 25].
A number of these new templates are already on the web. Here are a few:
Benet Ekhammer http://members.aol.com/solovii/
Jason D. Peterson http://members.aol.com/jasondrp/
Teri Milch http://home.mci2000.com/~tmilch@mci2000.com/index.htm
Michael Lewis http://www.relaypoint.net/~lewisgroup/index.htm
Grahame Scott-Douglas http://www.relaypoint.net/~grahamesd/
Kathy Weigand http://www.relaypoint.net/~kweigand/index.htm
Denise Palm http://home1.gte.net/cedarlan/new/index.htm
Kevin Brown http://members.aol.com/actinup2/
Tom Humphrey http://members.aol.com/humphreytr/index.htm
The sites are almost identical, and if Scientology is not stopped, there
will soon be 115,000 more of them. The web pages provide little
information on the Scientologists themselves (other than their feelings
toward Scientology), and link directly (and only) to the Scientology web
site. It is also significant that they do not include any email
addresses with which to contact the web host. So while censoring the
entire Internet by jamming search mechanisms, Scientology is
simultaneously censoring its members.
Scientology will perhaps say it is simply expressing its religious
freedom, but this claim rings hollow. Why would an expression of
religious freedom use a technique intentionally designed to clog search
mechanisms? And the proportionality is way off: Scientology is posting
116,000 new pages in response to two or three hundred anti-Scientology
sites, which makes the size of the attack 400 times the totality of what
opposes it. It might also be significant that Scientology officials
announced this new censorship attack at a celebration of Scientology’s
founder’s birthday.
The message Scientology is sending to the Internet is the same as
always: we don’t care about your rules or the reaction you’ve shown us.
If Scientology is allowed to continue its censorship war on the
Internet, other totalitarian corporate, government, or cult groups will
follow. Any issue people care dearly about can be drowned out by one
side or the other using this techno-censorship technique. Continued
efforts such as this latest ploy will jam search mechanisms, make
searches fruitless, and slow down the Internet. It is extremely
important that the Internet send Scientology a clear, strong message to
stop this Internet abuse.
It is FACTNet’s hope that Scientology’s executives and its $20
million-per-year legal team will realize that change needs to be made.
Specifically, Scientology needs to stop its Internet censorship tactics
completely. If they do, it will take quite some time to show good faith
and for Internet users to re-establish respect for the organization.
If Scientology does not stop, how does it expect to keep going in the
1990s in a world becoming increasingly Internet-based, when it is
rapidly becoming the pariah of the Internet and the archetypal example
of what not to do in terms of Internet marketing.
What you can do
One does not have to disagree with Scientology to agree that its actions
on the Internet are reprehensible. Help us take action against this new
censorship attack:
1.Forward this email following net etiquette to all interested Internet
users, Internet service providers, and search mechanisms.
2.Forward this email to Scientology’s celebrities urging them to stop
promoting an organization that takes such reprehensible censoring action
against the Internet. Here are some Scientology celebrity email
addresses:
John Travolta: info@johntravolta.org
Nancy Cartright (voice of Bart Simpson): nancy@kidsister.com
Chick Corea: chickcorea@n2k.com
Jenna Elfman: 8730 Sunset Blvd, #220W, Los Angeles, CA 90069 or to
"Dharma & Greg", 20th Century Fox, 10201 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, Ca
90034
Other Scientology celebrities include Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Kirstie
Alley, Lisa Marie Presley, Priscilla Presley, and Kelly Preston. Write
to them if you can locate their addresses!
2.Email Scientology at info@scientology.net and let them know you will
not stand for their censoring free speech on the Internet.
Links & notations: further information on Scientology’s war on the
Internet
In general: Scientology and the Internet
http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/scinternet.htm
Ron Newman’s The Church of Scientology vs. the Net
http://www2.thecia.net/users/rnewman/scientology/home.html#NON-NET
Marina's Manor, for many of the hundreds of anti-Scientology pages
http://www.best.com/~mchong/index.shtml
Yet another "Scientology vs. the Net" Web page
http://www.gate.net/~shipbrk/Co$/
EFF Archive: Legal Cases - Church of Scientology
http://www.eff.org/pub/Censorship/Scientology_cases/
For details on Operation Cancelbunny, see
http://www2.thecia.net/users/rnewman/scientology/usenet/cancel.html
For details on Operation Delete a.r.s., see
http://www2.thecia.net/users/rnewman/scientology/usenet/rmgroup.html
For details on Operation Raid concerning Dennis Erlich, see
http://www2.thecia.net/users/rnewman/scientology/erlich/home.html
For details on Operation Raid concerning Arnie Lerma, see
http://www2.thecia.net/users/rnewman/scientology/lerma/home.html
For details on Operation Raid concerning FACTNet, see
http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/raid.html
For details on Operation Raid concerning XS4ALL and Karin Spaink, see
http://www2.thecia.net/users/rnewman/scientology/dutch/home.html
For details on Operation Anonymous Remailer, see
http://www2.thecia.net/users/rnewman/scientology/anon/home.html
For details on Operation Anonymous Remailer and anon.penet.fi, see
http://www2.thecia.net/users/rnewman/scientology/anon/penet.html
For details on Operation Anonymous Remailer and Grady Ward, see
http://www2.thecia.net/users/rnewman/scientology/grady/home.html
For details on Operation Spam Attack, see
http://www2.thecia.net/users/rnewman/scientology/home.html#SPAM
For details on Operation Netizen, see
http://www2.thecia.net/users/rnewman/scientology/harass/home.html
Tilman Hausherr’s site is at
http://www.snafu.de/~tilman/cos_fun/parody_images.html
Ray Randolph’s site is at
http://www.scientology-kills.net/
The City of Night article [March 19 - 25, 1998] is at
http://www.newtimesla.com/1998/current/cityofnight1.html
By the way: Why the Internet is a threat to Scientology
Scientology, like all cults, operates as a closed, totalitarian
organization. To gain members’ allegiance, cults systematically exert
more and more control over members’ social environment, time, and social
support. One key aspect of this process is the manipulation of
information members are allowed to come into contact with. Information
must be controlled, distorted, and severely limited, in order for the
group to suspend members’ belief in otherwise outlandish things.
Information which questions or contradicts the group’s assertions are
not permitted. Criticism of all kinds is not permitted. Rules exist
governing permissible topics to discuss with outsiders. And within the
group, communication is highly controlled, giving rise to the
construction of "in-group" jargon.
Just as the effectiveness of mind control depends upon regulating the
information members are exposed to, providing full information is the
key to helping cult members leave the destructive organizations they
feel tied to. According to cult expert Paul Martin, "Understanding what
happened to the [cult victim] is the first step in recovery." And
knowing the truth about cultic organizations and how mind control works
prevents others from joining. It is for this reason, by the way, that
education and referrals comprise the core of FACTNet’s work: education
helps people break cult ties, and referrals to cult-help professionals
help ex-members heal and reduce the ongoing harms of cults.
So if information in itself threatens the control that cults --
particularly Scientology -- hold over members, the Internet is their
nightmare. The Internet has provided an easy outlet for the millions of
ex-cult members worldwide to tell their horror stories. Internet
technology makes access to unimaginably huge amounts of information
easy, fast, discrete, and inexpensive. FACTNet’s site alone has
transferred over a billion bytes of data so far this month. And
FACTNet’s web site is only one of hundreds that provide information on
cults, and only one of millions of sites worldwide.
Scientology is right to be threatened by the Internet in so far as the
cult depends upon censoring the information its members are exposed to.
It is estimated that since Scientology started its Internet battles in
1992, its income has dropped by up to 80% worldwide. One would assume
this reflects a decrease in Scientology’s hold over its members.
Doubtless this is a tribute to the power of the Internet and an example
of the Internet’s ability to be a useful tool for educating society.
In the face of the criticisms leveled against Scientology on the
Internet, Scientology has responded in its standard manner: not by
reforming, but by attacking. Specifically, by attacking individual
Internet users, Internet Service Providers, and the Internet itself as
an effectively operating information network. Because of the threat the
Internet poses to Scientology, Scientology likely considers the Internet
itself an enemy. It is important for the Internet community to remember
Scientology’s policy on enemies, written by leader L. Ron Hubbard in
1967: "[Enemies] may be deprived of property or injured by any means ...
May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed." [L. Ron Hubbard, HCO P/L
18 October 1967].
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