"Hactivism is the new 4th branch of government in order to monitor the other three . . . Fighting back and resistance isn't just fun, but it is our patriotic duty."
~ ~ Jello Biafra.

Hackers (information seekers and graffiti artists without spray paint cans) from all over the world converged at the Hotel Pennsylvania for the third Hackers of Planet Earth conference (July 14th ・16th, 2000), also known as H2K. The conference succeeded in gathering previously unrelated subcultures of people who are interested in deploying Information Warfare tactics to create a more open society.

Coincidentally, the conference dates rested upon the eve of an historic trial under way in New York City, Universal City Studios v Eric Corley. Better known as Emmanuel Goldstein, editor of the zine 2600: The Hacker Quarterly, Corley and others faced charges of violating the new Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). 2600 had posted on their Web site the source code for encryption which is used to control DVD playback. A mock trial at the conference was organized: both sides were represented, complete with a jury who was chosen from the audience.

There were three tracks of speakers and panels ・to mention a few - Hactivism ・Terrorism or A New Hope?; Cyber Civil Disobedience; The Robotic Graffiti Write; DeCSS and the DMCA ・Hackers vs. Corporate America; The King's Mob Open Source Media Pane; Napster: A New Beginning or Beginning of the End?, and Becoming the Media: How the Web is Changing Everything.Describing themselves as 'media whores', the Cult of the Dead Cow gave an entertaining performance.

Jello Biafra was one of the keynote speakers. The H2K program booklet stated: "This is also the first time ever that a presidential candidate has addressed a hacker convention." Biafra's presence at the conference was evidence of a wedding between several schools of thought: the anarchist, activist, and the hacker. Many parallels exist between the cultures. For example, all groups share a particular fondness of the First Amendment.

A hacker and an activist both have inherent anarchistic tendencies within, but when put together a powerful force called hactivism is born. Hactivism can be described as "using the net to blend activism and technology in a positive way." Another conference theme was how activists employed the use of technology and the Internet for independent media purposes.

Jon Johanson was another noted H2K speaker: one of the Europeans who cracked the CSS encryption code that was created to protect a DVD against 'piracy'. Johanson has paralyzed most of Hollywood with the scary thought of a lessening of profit gain from DVDs. Johanson and his father recounted all the events that have occurred ever since the day that he posted the DeCSS code online. Johanson also became a surprise witness to the Eric Corley trial.

In the 'Social Engineering' panel, Kevin Mitnick answered questions by telephone. Mitnick talked for a bit about things that has been going on ever since he has been released from prison. Emmanuel Goldstein demonstrated an act of 'social engineering' by calling up AT&T security and inquiring information about a memo that has been passed around the company ・warning operators about potential phone calls from the H2K population.