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Using its crowdsourced map and confidentialtips from witnesses, Operation Thunderbird raisespublic awareness through Tumblr and Facebook, 33using the Twitter handle @anony_mmis to tweet updatesand connect to related movements. Althoughthe group has experienced some opposition andonline harassment, Operation Thunderbird has developedstrong support through connections withinthe Idle No More movement and hacktivist communities.Members of the group have been involved inonline crisis mapping, including with the StandbyTask Force during the Libya conflict in 2011. 34 In thefuture Operation Thunderbird plans to investigatesources of funding to develop a website to housedatabases, documents, research catalogues and aspecialised map to assist further research and advocacy.While Operation Thunderbird has used onlineplatforms to put pressure on local authorities, itsmembers believe that this online advocacy must betied to offline strategies:Only by meeting people in person and physicallybeing at the location of the crimes with the intentof demanding answers from authorities willany real longer term impact come from internetbased[..], crowdsourced or digital activism. 35Offline organising has been a regular component ofaction by Operation Thunderbird, including holdingrallies outside of local police headquarters. In April2013, Operation Thunderbird staged a peaceful protestoutside of the Thunder Bay Police Services office,with protestors coming in support from nearbycities and towns. While some of the protestors woreAnonymous Guy Fawkes masks, 36 others revealedtheir identity, including the communications officerof the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, and families ofwomen who had been murdered or gone missing. 37Surveillance and exclusionWhile online platforms and networks have playedan essential role in holding local authorities accountablefor cases of missing and murdered Indigenouswomen in Canada, there are also risksposed by new technology. The Canadian SecurityIntelligence Service (CSIS) and the RCMP were accusedin 2012 of spying on environmentalists andIndigenous groups in order to provide information33 opthunderbird.tumblr.com/34 standbytaskforce.wordpress.com/2011/09/01/libya-crisis-mapreport35 Interview with @org9, Operation Thunderbird, 2 June 2013.36 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes_mask37 wawataynews.ca/node/24354to the energy corporations in the Arctic. 38 In May2013, Canada’s Privacy Commissioner confirmedreports that the government had unlawfully spiedon Cindy Blackstock, the executive director ofthe First Nations Child and Family Caring Societyof Canada, after her organisation filed a humanrights complaint over funding of child services onreserves. 39These cases, as well as recent revelations ofUS National Security Agency spying, demonstratethe growing importance of privacy and anonymityonline. The Association for Progressive Communication’s(APC) EROTICS research 40 from India andSouth Africa found that while the internet is an increasinglyimportant public space for democraticdeliberation, anonymity is key to provide a safespace for the negotiation of rights, particularly forthose denied access to other spaces based on sexualityor gender identity.In addition to increased surveillance of individualsand civil society groups in Canada, experts suggestthat because of significant digital divides, theuse of social media may exclude individuals livingin rural communities from participating in politicalactivism. 41ConclusionsIn March 2013, the outcome document of the 57thsession of the Commission on the Status of Womenmade recommendations for governments, nationalhuman rights institutions, the private sector, civilsociety and other stakeholders to “[s]upport thedevelopment and use of ICT and social media as aresource for the empowerment of women and girls,including access to information on the preventionof and response to violence against women andgirls.” 42“Hacktivists” associated with the Anonymousnetwork are a growing source of support for community-baseddevelopment and use of technologyto prevent and respond to violence against womenin Canada. Moving away from DDoS attacks and towardslegal protest, outreach and information sharing,groups collaborating under the Anonymousbanner are working with local communities to tacklestructural inequalities. While questions continue38 www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/464039 www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/05/29/conservative_government_found_spying_on_aboriginal_advocate_tim_harper.html40 www.apc.org/en/node/1280441 www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/01/11/social_media_helps_drive_idle_no_more_movement.html42 www.genderit.org/feminist-talk/agreed-conclusions-csw-57thinclude-violence-against-women-and-ict90 / Global Information Society Watch