Did anonymous cross an ethical line outing Amanda Todd’s purported stalker who turned out to be wrong?

Amanda Todd’s purported stalker reckons knows he knows who her real stalker is….

Anonymous accusation of Amanda Todd stalker is false say cops.

Anonymous track man who released naked deceased images of Amanda Michelle Todd via twitter.

Anonymous outs man who spread topless photos of Amanda Michelle Todd who committed suicide.

Canadian student Amanda Michelle Todd commits suicide after relentless bullying.

It may have seemed like a good idea at the time, round up the bogeyman and expose him to the world for all the evils he was suppose to have committed and at the same time get the world to love you in return. That of course may have been the plan but it now seems, anonymous  the hacker group may have ended up with egg yolk on their face pursuant to a report from the RCMP asserting that the individual, Kody Maxson, anonymous had claimed to be Amanda Todd’s stalker is not at all responsible.

Anonymous with all the press they have received in the last 1-2 years since they have been in operation have had somewhat of a rocky love affair with the public, who on one hand appreciates that the group has gone after entities that it is commonly perceived to be above the law but in so doing have also acted above the law (but maybe that’s sometimes what it takes to get results?) itself and as one can see in the Amanda Todd case, such actions can be quite dangerous as Mr Maxson will now have to live with the watchful glare of the public at large, now that his reputation has been damaged with of course no recourse to legal damages, as anonymous don’t have a central bureau that one can just track down.

But perhaps describing the problem of anonymous comes an article via boingboing.net this morning:

For many, the very idea of anonymity evokes fears of online harassment and identity theft. We know people are entitled to say nasty things about us, but we shake our heads anxiously when, say, a friend’s bank accounts is looted by someone who simply got access to her e-mail. We know it could happen to us. If Anon can bring down the CIA’s website, what can we possibly do to protect ourselves?

We are experiencing an evolution of human social behavior, but it remains to be seen if the Age of Anonymous will be recollected as an awkward technological adolescence or as the inevitable birth of world where people are free to try on new identities wherever they go. Anonymous is just one manifestation of anonymity, but it represents a global recognition of its value; and a growing unease with the erosion of personal identity ownership.

Then there’s via news.com.au:

James Goodman, associate professor at UTS and lecturer in communication regulation, told news.com.au that this new direction for Anonymous is somewhat ironic and contradictory.

“Their power is anonymity,” Professor Goodman said. “They thrive on that.”

“To then expose people who use anonymity to abuse others is maybe seen as a welcome thing to do but it could harm their credibility.”

Professor Goodman said Anonymous was beginning to operate as an online police force.

“The reason why people admire Anonymous is that they’re actually calling authorities to account,” he said.

“But this is a whole different ball game.”

“I would kind of question why they’re doing it other than to gain a public profile which they don’t really need.”

That said anonymous are in fact serving to force society to recognize that there are a lot of ills at work and not to mention individuals and entities who through clever lawyers or their own anonymity have been for now able to do as they wish without legal or social recourse which points to the idea that it is not a fair playing ground and the public through internet and social groups are now aiming to take on this discrepancy.

Reports the examiner:

The irony of it persists. An online group, who exposes wrongdoers by cyber stalking them and bullying, is now championing a young girl who hung herself because of cyber stalking and bullying. If Anonymous is correct in their cybersleuthing, then the perpetrator who stalked and taunted Amanda Todd has been identified and online bullies are getting payback. But if Anonymous is wrong, the cycle of harassment by hitting the ‘return’ keyboard button just continues.

“We have a justice system. It’s supposed to work, it does work.”

Really, so how come this creep was stalking her for years then? If the system worked then it would have protected her and she’d be alive.

Seem all around the world the criminals are the winners and those meant to be protecting us have lost the plot a long time ago, or is it deliberate, to make us live in fear and be dependent upon them, especially as arms for personal protection are banned in most western countries.

How a new form of justice is to be actually implemented is still up for debate (but one thing is for sure people are these days too aware of continuing bad behavior and desperately want recourse) that said one has to appreciate that groups like anonymous do exist, yet a the same time because they can not be held legally accountable (which paradoxically is what allows them to do what they do without the wrath of legal impunity) their existence could be argued to be a volatile and a dangerous one.

For now Mr Maxson can count himself to be the latest victim of anonymous’ behavior despite its purported efforts to do good, which raises the question who’s next (which of course may be part of anonymous advantage in keeping potential bad doers in check) as the public is now held to some degree hostage to the outlet’s tastes and aspirations as the group may or may not end out to turn out to be the modern day Robin Hood that so many may wish it to be…