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protest movement that has gained significant supportacross Canada and internationally. Social mediahave been an essential part of the movement,to both raise awareness and provide a space for Indigenouspeople – particularly youth – to speak outand have their voices heard. 17Anonymous “hacktivism”Often referred to as “hacktivists”, 18 Anonymous is aloose network of hackers, technologists, activists,human rights advocates, geeks and pranksters, usingthe name as a banner for disparate collectiveaction to protect and promote the free flow of information.19Anonymous gained public attention in 2010 as aresult of Operation Payback, 20 a series of distributeddenial of service (DDoS) attacks against websites offinancial institutions refusing to transfer funds fromdonors to WikiLeaks following the US diplomaticcable leaks. 21 Months later, in 2011, members ofthe Anonymous network participated in attacks ongovernment websites in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya insupport of the Arab uprisings. 22The Canadian branch of the Anonymous network,CanAnon, 23 has taken a slightly different approachto anonymous activism, raising awarenessand rallying support against policies that limit freedomof expression online, including the proposedonline surveillance bill, C-30. 24 In 2012, members ofAnonymous released details through social mediaabout an alleged suspect in the blackmail and sexualassault of a 15-year-old girl who committed suicideafter private photos were shared without herconsent. 25 The allegations were ultimately found tobe false, leading some to raise concerns over thenegative impacts of online “vigilantism”. 26Operation ThunderbirdOn 27 December 2012, an Indigenous woman wasabducted and raped by two white men in ThunderBay, Ontario, in alleged response to ongoing pro-17 www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/01/11/social_media_helps_drive_idle_no_more_movement.html18 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacktivism19 canopycanopycanopy.com/15/our_weirdness_is_free20 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Payback21 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_diplomatic_cables_leak22 www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/05/201151917634659824.html23 www.cananon.info24 www.brockpress.com/focus/a-new-breed-of-activism-unmaskingcanada-s-anonymous-culture25 www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/16/amanda-todd-bullyanonymous-suicide_n_1969792.html26 www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/hacktivistgroup-names-second-person-in-amanda-todd-case/article4619867tests connected to the Idle No More movement. 27During the assault the woman was told by her attackersthat she deserved to lose her Treaty rights,referencing recent protests. Reports indicate thatlocal police devoted few resources to investigatingthe racially motivated crime, and the perpetratorswere never found.After years of similar cases and police response,a group of like-minded Indigenous and alliedwomen and men identified the need for directaction. Using the Anonymous network, OperationThunderbird was developed to raise awarenessand demand that police allocate sufficient resourcesin order to conduct full investigations. 28 In January2013, the Anonymous network released a video29 from Operation Thunderbird, criticising policeresponse to the assault and releasing descriptionsof two suspects. Referencing Anonymous action inother cases, 30 the video contained a message topolice stating that if no public progress was made,a second phase of Operation Thunderbird wouldbe undertaken.In February 2013, Operation Thunderbird begana second phase through the development of an onlinecrowdsourced map to demonstrate the extentof violence against Indigenous women in Canadaand the United States. 31 Using Anonymous onlinenetworks, Operation Thunderbird receives andshares information on missing Indigenous women,and communicates directly with police and mediato address the disparity in resources deployed toprotect and bring justice to victims. In an interview,the principal researcher for Operation Thunderbirddescribed the importance of the internet and socialmedia in addressing violence against Indigenouswomen:The internet community is the global digitalcommunity now connected, discussing andsharing resources like never before. We believethis is useful in terms of knowing what has andhas not been done to combat disparity and systemicracism. 3227 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/story/2012/12/31/tbpolice-investigate-sexual-assault.html28 Interview with @org9, Operation Thunderbird, 2 June 2013.29 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/story/2013/01/24/tbyanonymous-hacker-thunder-bay-police-investigation.html30 jezebel.com/5973165/anonymous-releases-more-intel-on-thealleged-steubenville-rape-crew31 www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/story/2013/02/06/tbythunderbay-anonymous-map-tracks-missing-murdered-aboriginalwomen.html32 Interview with @org9, Operation Thunderbird, 2 June 2013.89 / Global Information Society Watch