Infamous adultery website, Ashley Madison, has had a rather tumultuous week. The Canadian “social networking” site was hacked, and along with it, confidential and private client information found its way onto the internet, our largest and most dangerous forum of public shaming. Calling themselves “The Impact Team”, the hackers began blackmailing Ashley Madison and its parent company Avid Media This information was highly sensitive, including more than just sexual fantasies, but home addresses and credit card numbers. Regardless of the moral ambiguity of breaching a company like Ashley Madison, the sad reality is that, if they haven’t already, many lives are now in the midst of their own crises. Not just the lives of the adulterers that signed up for the site, but for the families, spouses, and other parties that are unwittingly involved.
During a press conference earlier today, Toronto Police have suggested links between the hacks and two apparent suicides. Leaking information of this nature is dangerous, and these developments are case in point. It is extremely reckless to disregard the inevitable outcome of posting this sort of information, as it throws the lives of its users and those involved in the user’s life, right into the line of fire. 32 million users were reported at the time of the hack. Global News discovered that 55,000 users were registered in Ottawa alone. That’s a fifth of the capital’s population. When this many lives are affected, the police have to treat this case as a criminal act.
The services that Ashley Madison offers, can be, and will be, argued as societally wrong. But the ripple effect of the leak is already becoming more and more devastating. Users now have their personal information in the hands of other criminals: small time scam artists, or vicious blackmailers. This is a perfect example of how hacktivism should be approached with more thought. There isn’t anything vigilant about destroying the personal lives of spouses, children, and the countless others involved. There is a strong difference between defaming someone like Josh Duggar, and putting thousands of Saudi users literally at risk, living in a country where adultery is a crime punishable by death. In the coming weeks, more and more users, whether public figures or average joes, will have their names tarnished. But while they’ve put themselves at risk by cheating in the first place, the real tragedy will be in the countless others who will have their lives ruined by association. The online exposure and humiliation of Ashley Madison users have already lead to divorces, and even the deaths of those involved. So before we applaud another anonymous hive of cyber vigilantes, remember the damage they’ve caused to innocent bystanders. These affairs may be unfortunate, but this is one battle the internet doesn’t need to wage.
