Jacob Appelbaum: Difference between revisions

{{shortShort description|American computer security researcher and journalist (born 1 April 1983)}}

| alt = Picture of Jacob Appelbaum

| citizenship = [[Americans|American]]

'''Jacob Appelbaum''' (born 1 April 1, 1983)<ref name="artlyst">{{Cite web |url=https://artlyst.com/news/ai-weiwei-teams-up-with-wikileaks-activist-jacob-appelbaum-for-collaboration/ |title=Ai Weiwei Teams Up With Wikileaks Activist Jacob Appelbaum For Collaboration |date=2015-04-28 |website=Artlyst.com |access-date=2023-01-02 |archive-date=2023-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102115756/https://artlyst.com/news/ai-weiwei-teams-up-with-wikileaks-activist-jacob-appelbaum-for-collaboration/ |url-status=live }}</ref> is an [[Americans|American]] independent journalist, [[computer security]] researcher, artist, and [[Hacking (innovation)|hacker]].

Many of these organizations, as well as his employer [[Tor (anonymity network)|Tor]], ended their association with Appelbaum in June 2016 following allegations of sexual abuse.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Freedom of the Press Foundation ends association.">{{cite web | url=https://freedom.press/blog/2016/06/statement-jacob-appelbaum | title=Statement on Jacob Appelbaum | publisher=Freedom of the Press Foundation | access-date=8 June 2016 | author=Trevor, Timm | date=8 June 2016 | archive-date=8 June 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160608220423/https://freedom.press/blog/2016/06/statement-jacob-appelbaum | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="'Sam' and 'Forest' Reveal Identities"/><ref name="blog.noisebridge.net">{{cite web|title=Noisebridge Statement on Jacob Appelbaum|url=http://blog.noisebridge.net/post/145728465358/noisebridge-statement-on-jacob-appelbaum|website=Noisebridge Blog|access-date=16 June 2016|archive-date=14 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160614050852/http://blog.noisebridge.net/post/145728465358/noisebridge-statement-on-jacob-appelbaum|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Chaos Computer Club ban.">{{cite web | url=https://gizmodo.com/jacob-appelbaum-banned-from-prominent-hacker-conference-1782164249 | title=Jacob Appelbaum Banned From Prominent Hacker Conference Following Sexual Assault Allegations | website=Gizmodo | date=2016-06-17 | access-date=18 June 2016 | author=Turton, William | archive-date=2016-06-17 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617215554/http://gizmodo.com/jacob-appelbaum-banned-from-prominent-hacker-conference-1782164249 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Appelbaum Expelled from Debian">{{cite web|url=http://www.itwire.com/business-it-news/open-source/73415-security-expert-appelbaum-no-longer-part-of-debian.html|title=Security expert Appelbaum no longer part of Debian|date=18 June 2016|publisher=ITWire|access-date=2 July 2016|archive-date=23 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623104201/http://www.itwire.com/business-it-news/open-source/73415-security-expert-appelbaum-no-longer-part-of-debian.html|url-status=live}}</ref> After a seven-week investigation led by an outside investigator, Tor concluded that many of the allegations of misconduct were accurate.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2016-07-28 |title=Investigation confirms Jacob Appelbaum sexual misconduct at Tor Project |url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/tor-project-jacob-appelbaum-sexual-assault-rape-investigation/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329060025/https://www.dailydot.com/debug/tor-project-jacob-appelbaum-sexual-assault-rape-investigation/ |archive-date=2022-03-29 |access-date=2022-07-22 |website=The Daily Dot |language=en-US}}</ref> Appelbaum has denied the allegations.<ref name="Guardian Appelbaum denial">{{cite web | last=Yadron | first=Danny | title=Digital privacy activist Jacob Appelbaum denies colleagues' assault allegations | website=the Guardian | date=6 June 2016 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/06/jacob-appelbaum-tor-denies-assault-allegations | access-date=12 July 2016}}</ref> Various activists and others publicly supported Appelbaum, voicing concerns about [[due process]], trial by [[social media]], and questioning the claims,<ref name="Die Presse und der Pranger">{{cite web|last1=Riegel|first1=Tobias|title=Die Presse und der Pranger|url=https://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/1015075.die-presse-und-der-pranger.html|website=neues deutschland|access-date=17 June 2016|date=13 June 2016|language=de|trans-title=The press and the pillory|archive-date=14 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160614120543/https://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/1015075.die-presse-und-der-pranger.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="faz.net">{{cite news|last1=Alphonso|first1=Don|title=Aktivistinnen rufen zum Ende der Hetzjagd gegen Appelbaum auf|url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/medien/offener-brief-zu-vorwuerfen-ueber-jacob-appelbaum-14284019.html|newspaper=Faz.net|access-date=17 June 2016|date=13 June 2016|language=de|trans-title=Women activists call for an end to the witch-hunt against Jacob Appelbaum|archive-date=16 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616130505/http://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/medien/offener-brief-zu-vorwuerfen-ueber-jacob-appelbaum-14284019.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ourresponse.org">{{Cite web|url=https://ourresponse.org/|title=In solidarity with Jacob Applebaum and on the side of justice for all|date=Jun 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608171941/https://ourresponse.org/|access-date=Sep 5, 2019|archive-date=2017-06-08}}</ref> while others credit the incident with changing the [[information security]] community's [[MeToo movement|attitude towards sheltering known abusers]].<ref name="Bernstein"/> The affair has had repercussions in the online privacy advocacy world.<ref name="Sexual Misconduct Scandal Explodes">{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/07/27/what-you-should-know-about-the-sexual-misconduct-scandal-that-shook-the-privacy-world/#comments | title=Jacob Appelbaum was an online privacy hero. Then a sex misconduct scandal exploded | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=2016-07-28 | access-date=2016-07-30 | author=Peterson, Andrea | archive-date=2021-01-30 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130224215/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/07/27/what-you-should-know-about-the-sexual-misconduct-scandal-that-shook-the-privacy-world/#comments | url-status=live }}</ref> U.S. news media treated the allegations as credible,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> and reactions in Germany were mixed.<ref name="Die Zeit Contradictions-English">{{cite news

}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Boie |first=Johannes |title=Jacob Appelbaum weist Missbrauchsvorwürfe zurück |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/digital/jacob-appelbaum-missbrauchsvorwuerfe-erschuettern-berliner-hacker-szene-1.3022341 |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=Süddeutsche.de |date=6 June 2016 |language=de |archive-date=2023-03-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230318223035/https://www.sueddeutsche.de/digital/jacob-appelbaum-missbrauchsvorwuerfe-erschuettern-berliner-hacker-szene-1.3022341 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Appelbaum appeared in [[Laura Poitras]]'s [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning film ''[[Citizenfour]]'' (2014),<ref name="IMDB Citizenfour">{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4044364/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm |title=Citizenfour (2014) Full Cast & Crew |website=imdb.com |access-date=31 July 2016 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013134952/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4044364/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm |url-status=live }}</ref> which documents the public emergence of [[National Security Agency|NSA]] whistle-blower [[Edward Snowden]] and the political circumstances leading to his actions. Appelbaum stars in Poitras's portrait of [[WikiLeaks]] founder [[Julian Assange]], [[Risk (2016 film)|''Risk'']] (2016).<ref name="IMDB Risk">{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4964772/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 |title=Risk (2016) |website=imdb.com |access-date=31 July 2016 |archive-date=8 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508074744/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4964772/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Appelbaum worked with Canadian film-maker [[Jamie Kastner]] for his documentary, "Nobody Wants to Talk About Jacob Appelbaum." The film was screened for buyers in September 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Benzine |first=Adam |date=2023-09-07 |title=Doc ‘Nobody'Nobody Wants to Talk About Jacob Appelbaum’Appelbaum' Gets Buyers Screening at Toronto (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/news/doc-nobody-wants-to-talk-about-jacob-appelbaum-1235715781/ |access-date=2023-12-02 |website=Variety |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-12-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202034522/https://variety.com/2023/film/news/doc-nobody-wants-to-talk-about-jacob-appelbaum-1235715781/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In July 2016, ''[[Süddeutsche Zeitung]]'' reported that allegations against Appelbaum had been known in Berlin hacker circles for years. A hacker from [[Berlin]] told the newspaper that "I can feel a huge sense of relief that the silence has at last been broke."<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 6, 2016 |title=Famed Berlin hacker linked to Wikileaks fends off rape claim |url=https://www.thelocal.de/20160606/berlin-hacker-linked-to-wikileaks-fends-off-rape-allegations |website=The Local |access-date=March 18, 2023 |archive-date=March 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230318223035/https://www.thelocal.de/20160606/berlin-hacker-linked-to-wikileaks-fends-off-rape-allegations |url-status=live }}</ref> On 11 August 2016, the German weekly ''[[Die Zeit]]'' published a lengthy investigation into the rape charges, including interviews with three people present at the scene of the alleged rape. None of these witnesses corroborated the claims made by the anonymous victim. The article also reports that a second falsely identified victim had demanded that her story be removed from the anonymous website.<ref name="Die Zeit Contradictions-English" /> A change in attitude in the information security community towards calling out known abusers and believing reports of sexual misconduct was partially credited to Appelbaum's precedent.<ref name="Bernstein" />

Appelbaum is an [[Atheism|atheist]] of [[Jews|Jewish]] background and identifies himself as [[queer]].<ref name="roll2010"/> Politically, he is an [[Anarchism|anarchist]].<ref name="roll2010"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Jacob Appelbaum (Part 1/2) Digital Anti-Repression Workshop - April 26, 2012|website=[[YouTube]]|date=27 April 2012 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HHoJ9pQ0cn8#at=3323|access-date=28 June 2013|quote=Like, for me, as an atheist, bisexual, Jew, I'm gonna go on, uh - oh and Emma Goldman is one of my great heroes and I really think that anarchism is a fantastic principle by which to fashion a utopian society even if we can't get there.|archive-date=17 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017175258/https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HHoJ9pQ0cn8#at=3323|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2012, he moved to [[Berlin]],.<ref name="exberliner.com"/> heHe has stated that he doesn'tdoes not want to go back to the [[United States|U.S.]] because he doesn't feel safe there<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gnunet.org/tor2013tum-video |title=Video: Roger Dingledine and Jacob Appelbaum: Q&A |website=GNU |access-date=June 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150814044053/https://gnunet.org/tor2013tum-video |archive-date=August 14, 2015}}</ref> and in interviews he has provided specific examples of experiences that left him feeling unsafe.<ref name="exberliner.com"/>

{{Reflist|30em}}

[[Category:QueerAmerican queer men]]