Business ETC uses cookies. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Click here to find out more »
Dublin: 19 °C Wednesday 19 June, 2013

After poking fun at Mastercard, Wikileaks now plans to sue too

‘Watching the world change as a result of your work……priceless’: Wikileaks releases spoof video ahead of legal challenge to Mastercard and Visa.

Wikileaks' parody video plays on Mastercard's 'Priceless' theme
Wikileaks' parody video plays on Mastercard's 'Priceless' theme
Image: Wikileaks

WIKILEAKS IS EXPECTED to file a complaint against Visa Europe and MasterCard Europe over the credit card giants’ refusal to process payments to it, including donations.

The payments came to a halt when the whistle-blowing website began publishing secret diplomatic cables last year. DataCall, which is Wikileak’s payment processor, is filing two civil law suits, according to Techworld. There will also be a complaint filed to the European Commission.

DataCell alleges that its business has been seriously damaged because by Visa and Mastercard banning other companies from working with it. The complaint will state that they abused their market position and participated in anticompetitive practices, reports Silicon Republic.

Last year the hacker group Anonymous launched an attack on the websites of Visa and Mastercard, among other sites, in solidarity with Wikileaks, saying that any organisation which bowed to government pressure would be targeted.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange recently released a parody of Mastercard’s ‘Priceless’ ads, claiming that $15 million dollars has been lost through the ‘banking blockade’. The video also suggests that the fall of the Mubarak regime in Egypt was brought about by Wikileaks:


  • Share on Facebook
  • Email this article
  •  

Read next:

Comments (4 Comments)

  • Assange may have a bit of a reputation for being a paranoid control freak (not to mention an “alleged” sexual predator) – but that advert is still well done and Wikileaks have been the conduit for a lot of good.

    Reply
  • Wikileaks we need more like you in today’s world !

    Reply
  • Nice to see him being able to smile in the face of adversity. Love it or loathe it, Wikileaks is no more than freedom of information without giving bundling civil servants the option to redact their mistakes. What has been achieved will be assessed by time but ultimately all that has been done is the release of information that the people both hired and paid their governments to collect.

    Reply
  • Unfortunately, whilst most people are fundamentally in agreement with the logic behind Wiki leaks, the effects of some of its activities will be detrimental to freedom of information ideals. Internal communications between govt. officials will go underground, making this kind of revelation difficult, if not impossible. It could also stifle the free and frank conversations which are required to allow officials to make informed choices. I can’t bring myself to give Julian Assange a carte blanche seal of approval. I think he needs to exercise some responsibility. I know that won’t go down well with most of you, but this is the real world.

    Reply

Add New Comment