Editing Joe Lieberman (section)

=== Whistleblowing ===
Lieberman was a major opponent of the [[whistle-blowing|whistleblowing]] website [[WikiLeaks]]. His staff "made inquiries" of [[Amazon.com]] and other internet companies such as [[PayPal]], [[Visa Inc.|Visa]], and [[MasterCard]] which resulted in them suspending service to WikiLeaks. Journalist [[Glenn Greenwald]] called Lieberman's actions "one of the most pernicious acts by a U.S. Senator in quite some time," and accused Lieberman of "emulat[ing] Chinese dictators" by "abusing his position as [[United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs|Homeland Security]] Chairman to thuggishly dictate to private companies which websites they should and should not host&nbsp;– and, more important, what you can and cannot read on the Internet."<ref>[[Glenn Greenwald|Greenwald, Glenn]] (December 2, 2010) [https://web.archive.org/web/20101203184232/http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/12/01/lieberman/index.html Joe Lieberman emulates Chinese dictators], ''[[Salon.com]]''</ref> Lieberman also suggested that "''[[The New York Times]]'' and other news organisations publishing the U.S. embassy cables being released by WikiLeaks could be investigated for breaking [[Espionage Act of 1917|US espionage laws]]."<ref>Owen, Paul; Adams, Richard; and McAskill, Ewen (December 7, 2010) [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/07/wikileaks-joe-lieberman-new-york-times-investigated WikiLeaks: US Senator Joe Lieberman suggests New York Times could be investigated] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120620233457/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/07/wikileaks-joe-lieberman-new-york-times-investigated |date=June 20, 2012 }}, ''[[The Guardian]]''</ref>

Along with Senators [[John Ensign]] and [[Scott Brown (politician)|Scott Brown]], Lieberman "introduced a bill to amend the [[Espionage Act of 1917|Espionage Act]] in order to facilitate the prosecution of folks like Wikileaks."<ref name=Wittes>[[Benjamin Wittes|Wittes, Benjamin]] (December 6, 2010) [https://www.lawfaremedia.org/2010/12/espionage-act-amendments/ "Espionage Act Amendments"]{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''Lawfare''</ref> Critics have noted that "[l]eaking [classified] information in the first place is already a crime, so the measure is aimed squarely at publishers," and that "Lieberman's proposed solution to WikiLeaks could have implications for journalists reporting on some of the more unsavory practices of the intelligence community."<ref name=Wired>[[Kevin Poulsen|Poulsen, Kevin]] (December 2, 2010) [https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/12/shield "Lieberman Introduces Anti-WikiLeaks Legislation"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328151343/http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/12/shield/ |date=March 28, 2014 }}, ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]''</ref> Legal analyst [[Benjamin Wittes]] called the proposed legislation "the worst of both worlds", saying:

{{blockquote|It leaves intact the current World War I–era Espionage Act provision, 18 U.S.C. 793(e), a law [with] many problems&nbsp;... and then takes a currently well-drawn law and expands its scope to the point that it covers a lot more than the most reckless of media excesses. A lot of good journalism would be a crime under this provision; after all, knowingly and willfully publishing material "concerning the human intelligence activities of the United States or any foreign government" is no small part of what a good newspaper does.<ref name=Wittes/>}}

As a result of these statements and actions, Lieberman was perceived as an opponent of Internet [[free speech]] and became the target of [[Anonymous (group)|Anonymous]] attacks under [[Operation Payback]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=McDevitt |first1=Johnny |title=Operation Payback: 'Twitter will fall next' |url=https://www.channel4.com/news/operation-payback-twitter-will-fall-next |access-date=February 22, 2022 |work=Channel 4 News |date=December 9, 2010 |archive-date=February 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222224338/https://www.channel4.com/news/operation-payback-twitter-will-fall-next |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |last=Marechal |first=Nathalie |date=May 1, 2012 |title=Hackers, Heavies and Heros: Dissent and Control in Cyberworld |type=Masters of Arts |publisher=American University School of International Service |page=18 |ssrn=2047189 |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2047189 |access-date=February 22, 2022 |archive-date=February 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220222222835/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2047189 |url-status=live }}</ref>