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Free Byron Sonne

The Free Byron Sonne campaign could become a worldwide cause célèbre, and the case a landmark of sorts in the history of internet culture and law.

Or it could just remain another casualty of one of society’s most misunderstood tribes.

The tribe in question here, of course, is that of the hacker. Sonne was, in every sense of the word, a hacker. And that’s what separates his case from the hundreds of others arrested or detained during G20.

Hackers poke holes in society’s structures. Those holes are then sealed up once they’ve been exposed. It’s a service that protects rather than harms. Like journalists, hackers are in the business of finding a vulnerability in the system, publicizing it so that no one actually gets hurt. Or like tax lawyers, who find loopholes in tax law only to have the government close them up the next year.

Only the world is frightened of hackers, and see them as a virus-spreading nuisance, which is ignorant of hacker culture. They view hackers as dangerous, and ignore the different intentions they can have (read about the ethics of hacking here).

In most cases, hackers provide an invaluable service to society. Sonne was one of these. A member of Toronto’s premier hackspace HackLab.To, Sonne was not only a hacker, but a well-established one.

By trade an internet security expert, the 37-year-old was arrested on June 22, a few days before the start of the summit.

His offenses have not been fully detailed, and there’s a publication ban on his case, so it’s unclear what he’s actually done. His charges are listed as possession of explosives, weapons dangerous, intimidation of a justice system participant and mischief. He was denied bail this week.

Whatever all that means is besides the point. What Sonne was actually trying to do is expose security inadequacies of the G20, as is the role of the hacker. His intent was never to harm, and any crimes he allegedly committed were entirely victimless.

That the justice system can’t see the deep shades of difference between Sonne detailing security lapses and petty vandalism is an outright shame. And, in some ways, discrimination. If Sonne had been a cowardly Blac Blocker, bail would have already been set. There certainly seems a different set of rules for hacking.

Only a matter of time till hackers around the world take note that one of their own is a victim of such harsh, snap judgment.

Admittedly, Sonne’s hacking was a gamble, and he clearly lost. As he wrote on HackLab.To’s message board in advance of the summit, he was trying to:

“…purposefully raise flags and get ‘the man’ to take a look at me… but no luck. Everything’s arrived with minimal delay, I’ve successfully passed several police and RCMP background checks for various licenses, crossed into the USA multiple times with zero hassle … so draw your own conclusions.”

Eventually, ‘the man’ caught up to him, and put him in jail. What’s truly upsetting now is he’s still there.[rssbreak]

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