Did Steemit Do the Right Thing By Banning the 9/11 Hacker Group, @thedarkoverlord?
Yesterday, I stumbled on a news report that Steemit Inc has banned the account of @thedarkoverlord, a 9/11 hacker group who is seeking ransom in Bitcoin from members of the public or those implicated by the classified information they possess about the 9/11 terrorist attack on the US.
The group would either choose to disclose the classified information to the public or remain silent forever depending on whether the members of the public or those implicated pay them more. So, in a way, the hacker group wants to set the public against those implicated by their classified information and make a fortune out of it, a whopping $2million.
As you would expect, this clandestine group was banned on Twitter, so they moved to Steemit, which is believed to be a decentralized social network to carry out their propagandistic and dubious activities.
Consequently, Steemit Inc decided to ban the group's activities on Steemit because it clearly violates its terms and services. While some people have criticized the actions of Steemit as being centralized and tyrannical, I deeply feel that Steemit has done the right thing - decentralization isn't the same as anarchism or lawlessness.
@thedarkoverlord is an illegal organization when one unbiasedly looks into its modus operandi. If they had any classified information, why not release it without blackmailing those who are implicated?
If Steemit Inc had not banned the group from Steemit (although they still exist on the Steem blockchain), the group would have dented Steemit's reputation. So, I think Steemit has done the right thing - decentralization does not equal anarchism or lawlessness.
Image sourced from Google under the fair use policy.
SUPPORT CORNER
Kindly follow the peerless vocabulary lessons delivered by @majes.tytyty and get rewarded with some upvotes for your participation.
Are you a minnow and you're already thinking of giving up on Steemit? Please don't quit. Kindly follow @Steemitcentral and use the steemitcentral tag in your posts to get some upvotes.
I am @gandhibaba, the young man who goes about carrying his magical pen, not his gun, in his pockets.
.gif)
Gif courtesy of @artzanolino
Great point, and presented in a reasonable way.
Whistleblowing and promoting freedom on information are honorable and respectable activities. Bribery and coercion are not honorable.
In fact, bribery is reprehensible, and Steemit has every right to ban such horrible activity from its platform.
That's exactly the point - Steemit has every right to ban such horrible activity from its platform. The conception of decentralization, as some people perceive it, is to build a world where thieves and other unscrupulous beings will get away with anything and everything.
Glad to read your comment and that you share a similar view. Thanks.
Right. Decentralization is a great trend, in many ways, but that does not mean that decentralization is the be-all and the end-all.
The way that some fanatics go on and on about the glories of decentralization reminds he of how the neoliberals speak in hallowed tones about "the market."
Neither the market alone, nor decentralization alone, will bring us to utopia.
What a way to pass the message! I agree with you in this regard. Full Steem ahead.
Very well said my friend. Unfortunately the main reason thet people clamour for decentralization is similar to the reason people use the dark web.
Anonymity to perform nefarious acts with no one asking questions. Decentralization is almost made to mean anarchism and lawlessness but people have failed to realize one vital point, without structure nothing will stand.
Posted using Partiko Android
Thanks for your fantastic contribution to this discussion. Decentralization should be about taking power away from a powerful few to the powerless majority not transferring power to a few who wants to hold the world to ransom. Well said, my friend.
Exactly!
Posted using Partiko Android
Thanks for using eSteem!
Your post has been voted as a part of eSteem encouragement program. Keep up the good work! Install Android, iOS Mobile app or Windows, Mac, Linux Surfer app, if you haven't already!
Learn more: https://esteem.app
Join our discord: https://discord.gg/8eHupPq