The tech world does not intend to remain helpless after a law comes into effect that prohibits the majority of pregnancy terminations in Texas, even in cases of incest or rape. A website that encourages the public to denounce illegal abortions in this American state has been notified of its eviction by its host.
The prolifewhistleblower.com site was set up by the Texan anti-abortion group Right to Life to collect “Pipes” or denunciations of people and organizations helping a woman to have an abortion in this conservative state after six weeks of pregnancy.
Since Wednesday, a law provides that the plaintiffs receive at least 10,000 dollars in “Compensation” in case of conviction, a “Denunciation bonus”, according to his detractors.
But on Friday, a click of the website’s “pipes” button took the user to a page titled “Access Denied – GoDaddy’s Firewall”. The online service provider GoDaddy in fact informed the site owners on Thursday that they were in violation of its rules and that it had “Twenty-four hours to change host”, according to its spokesperson. GoDaddy’s policies state that users cannot collect information from people without their consent.
“We will not be silenced”, assured Kimberlyn Schwartz, communications director of Right to Life. “No one can stop us from saving lives. We are not afraid. We will not back down. Our team of technicians has already undertaken the transfer to another department and the site will be operational again within twenty-four to forty-eight hours ”, she clarified.
Internet users, encouraged by human rights organizations, have also flooded the website with false denunciations. On social media, like TikTok and Instagram, activists are sharing their efforts to create bots that bombard the site in this way.
Uber and Lyft, the two American leaders in chauffeur-driven car reservations, for their part announced on Friday that they would cover drivers’ legal costs if they are denounced under the new law.
Bumble and Match Group Support Fund
Bumble and Match Group (Tinder, OkCupid, etc.), headquartered in Texas, will create support funds. The online dating app Bumble wants to “Support the rights of women and people who want to have an abortion in Texas”, the woman-founded and run company tweeted on Wednesday.
“Our society usually does not take political sides, unless it concerns our business. But, in this case, I, personally, as a woman in Texas, could not remain silent ”, wrote Shar Dubey, the boss of Match, in an internal memo relayed on Twitter. And to add:
“Everyone must see the danger posed by a law as punitive and unjust as this one, which does not even make an exception for victims of rape or incest. I would hate for our state to take such a step backwards in women’s rights. “
The law that came into effect Wednesday prohibits abortion as soon as the embryo’s heartbeat is detected, around six weeks pregnant, when most women do not know they are pregnant. Only the medical emergency justifies an exception.
Until now, similar texts from other American states had been struck down in court, but this time the Federal Supreme Court refused to block the law. According to Texas law, it is not up to the authorities to enforce the measure, but to citizens, encouraged to file a civil complaint.
“The most pernicious thing (…) is that it creates a sort of self-proclaimed vigilante system, with people receiving rewards ”, lamented US President Joe Biden to the White House press on Friday. “It sounds ridiculous, almost anti-American”, he continued.
