{{Short description|Online civil disobedience technique}} A '''virtual sit-in''' is a form of electronic civil disobedience deriving its name from the sit-ins popular during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The virtual sit-in attempts to recreate that same action digitally using a distributed denial-of-service attack (DDOS). During a virtual sit-in, hundreds of activists attempt to access a target website simultaneously and repetitively. If performed correctly, this will cause the target website to run slowly or even collapse entirely, preventing anyone from accessing it.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Goodin|first1=Dan|title='Virtual sit-in' tests line between DDoS and free speech|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/04/09/virtual_protest_as_ddos/|accessdate=22 August 2015|date=9 April 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Delany|first1=Colin|title=DC Activists Stage "Virtual Sit-in" on Local Politician's Facebook Pages|url=http://www.epolitics.com/2010/05/17/dc-activists-stage-virtual-sit-in-on-local-politicians-facebook-pages/|accessdate=22 August 2015|date=17 May 2010}}</ref>
== Examples == On December 21, 1995, the first world Virtual sit-in, conceived by [http://www.tommasotozzi.it/index.php?title=Tommaso_Tozzi Tommaso Tozzi], was created by the Florentine group [http://www.strano.net/index2.html Strano Network] against the French government to protest against the nuclear tests in Mururoa and was defined as a [http://www.tommasotozzi.it/index.php?title=Netstrike_%281995%29 "Netstrike"].<ref>Strano Network (edited by), ''Net Strike, no copyright, etc. - Pratiche antagoniste nell'era telematica'', edizioni AAA, Bertiolo, Italy, 1996.</ref> On Thursday May 1, 1998, Ricardo Dominguez (co-founder of Electronic Disturbance Theater) and Stefan Wray held a virtual sit-in in which they decided to attack the World Economic Forum (WEF). They did this to support their particular beliefs against anti-globalization.<ref>{{cite news| last1= Weber| first1= Jessica| title= Virtual Sit-in| url= https://www.britannica.com/topic/virtual-sit-in| accessdate= 22 June 2017| date= 30 December 2013}}</ref> With over 160,000 people who attended the virtual sit-in for reasons that they could not take to the streets of New York City protest. More than 40,000 also downloaded software which made a DDOS attack easier was also recorded.<ref>{{cite news| last1=Shachtman| first1= Noah| title= Hacktivists Stage Virtual Sit-In at WEF Web site| url= https://www.alternet.org/2002/02/hacktivists_stage_virtual_sit-in_at_wef_web_site| accessdate= 22 April 2026| date= 6 February 2002|work=AlterNet}}</ref> The attack lasted all of Thursday and Friday night.
==See also== * Electronic civil disobedience * Hacktivism
== References == {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Virtual Sit-In}} Category:Politics and technology Category:Civil disobedience Category:Activism by type