London police demanded that the website Fitwatch’s hosting company shut it down, despite the lack of any court order or proof of wrongdoing. Fitwatch publishes advice for demonstrators, including a post on avoiding arrest. In the wake of the takedown, over 78 other websites republished the information:
In a blogpost published hours earlier, Fitwatch gave advice about avoiding arrest to students involved in last week’s protest at the Millbank headquarters of the Conservative party. Fitwatch was removed soon afterwards, but tonight the offending blogpost, which recommended that students “get rid” of clothes they wore at the demonstration and change their appearance, had been republished on an additional 78 websites, including Facebook.
Many of the websites republishing the material were run by political activists, who disseminated the material via Twitter in what they described as a campaign to show the futility of police censorship.
Fitwatch campaigners said they planned to get their original website rehosted within 36 hours, adding that it was also likely that they would republish the offending article.
Websites publish advice to student protesters on how to avoid arrest