Facebook facing wrath of renewed Gunpowder Plot

by Steven Mostyn - Aug 10 2011, 10:35

Lambasted for its dodgy privacy policies, the annoying introduction of opt-out features, making profit from user information, and, most recently, its possible part in helping fuel antisocial behaviour in the UK, social networking giant Facebook will be no more come November 5.

That’s according to shadowy hacking group Anonymous, which has pledged to bring Mark Zuckerberg’s glorious domain to its virtual knees via ‘Operation Facebook’ on the same day Guy Fawkes promised to burn down the Houses of Parliament during the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.

Although Facebook’s physical offices will likely escaped unscathed from the attack—if it indeed takes place—the danger could be very real for the network itself considering Anonymous has already crippled the online services of several big name businesses during 2011.

“Facebook has been selling information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to information security firms so that they can spy on people from all around the world,” claims the group’s official statement. “Some of these so-called whitehat infosec firms are working for authoritarian governments, such as Egypt and Syria.”

“Everything you do on Facebook stays on Facebook regardless of you ‘privacy’ settings, and deleting your account is impossible, even if you ‘delete’ your account, all your personal info stays on Facebbok and can be recovered at any time,” it adds.

Anonymous claims onlookers and social network users alike will thank them for destroying Facebook because it “gives users the illusion of (privacy) and hides the details away from them ‘for their own good’ while they then make millions off of you.”

It’s perhaps worth noting that the iconic facemask utilised by Anonymous (see above) first gained widespread notoriety though Hollywood movie ‘V for Vendetta’, which itself culminated in the rise of anarchy and the explosive destruction of the Houses of Parliament.

Remember, remember, the fifth of November… apparently.

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