Screengrab

A group claiming affiliation with Anonymous posted a bomb threat on its Twitter account Monday, saying it plans to detonate a bomb in a government building on November 5. The threat prompted disavowals from other Anon channels across the web.

The threat was linked from @FawkesSecurity, which posted the following message on several paste-up sites, as well as links to a seemingly typical Anonymous video with a masked and suited figure gesturing as a robotic voice said these words:

Dear citizens of the world, We are Anonymous.

As of today, 200 kilograms of composite Nitroglycerin and commercial explosives have effectively been concealed in a government building, situated in the United States of America. On the 5th of November, 2012, the device will detonate remotely via the transmission control protocol, leaving behind severe consequences. We would like to advise that the contraption is built inside a tamper-proof apparatus sensitive to physical intrusions or attempted disarmament, thus resulting in the desired effect, if the military grade device is found before the 5th of November. There is no intention, risks or circumstances whatsoever to cause harm to innocent people, but we can not say the same for the people who are the real terrorists, oppressors and war creators. [...]

Negative responses to the threat from the larger, Fawkes-masked and shifting sea of Anonymous have been trending on Pastebin, the most well-known programmers' paste-up site.

In one, titled "Anonymous response to false #OpV attack," the author of the message writes that FawkesSecurity has been seeking "fame by reuploading (sic) Anonymous videos [...] for almost a year" and suggests the bomb threat may be a disinformation campaign by the authorities or a "disinfo fucktard."

Another, more formal response was addressed "to the media." It said in part:

Let us be perfectly clear: Anonymous is not a terrorist organization. Anonymous does not use bombs. Anonymous does not condone violence in any way. Anonymous supports justice and universal equal rights. We support peaceful protest.

The Pastebin post addressing the media closed with another suggestion the bomb threat was disinformation intended to portray Anonymous as a terrorist group and concluded, "Either way, fuck whoever posted that threat."

The threatening message says it will detonate the bomb via "transmission control protocol," which may be a subtle signal that it is a hoax. Transmission control protocol is the TCP in TCP/IP. TCP is an application that supports secure and organized data transfer over the web.

However, the use of the term may also be the writer's attempt to suggest the bomb can be detonated by remote command, perhaps via cellphone.

The responses to FawkesSecurity's threat have sometimes referenced Project Mayhem 2012 and #OpV or #OpVendetta.

The latter operation will be a planned act of peaceful street theater in which Anons gather in London to recreate the final scene from the movie, V for Vendetta. In that scene, a mass of marchers enter Trafalgar Square in Guy Fawkes masks, then bombs go off under Big Ben in the U.K. Parliament building. Anonymous has said that it will not complete the re-enactment with explosives.

A page detailing FawkesSecurity's history since 2011 at KnowYourMeme strongly suggests it has a history of claiming responsibility for other hacks and DDoS attacks, as well as general trolling.

Anonymous Warning: 5th November 2012 - YouTube.

(Photo: Scott Beale, Laughing Squid)

When a NYPD request for information is about a fairly minor legal issue like a disorderly conduct arrest during a massive protest, it seems easy to side with the privacy protectors in defense of Twitter's actions to refuse to cough up that info. But what if the NYPD requests information for a user reportedly threatening to stage a massacre in a Broadway theater showing a Mike Tyson play? That makes things a little dicier, huh?

The New York Post reports that the NYPD sent Twitter an emergency request for user data on Friday after a Twitter user tweeted, "This s--t ain’t no joke yo — I’m serious, people are gonna die like aurora." The user was reportedly planning a massacre at the Midtown showing of the play Undisputed Truth, starring Mike Tyson.

According to the Post, Twitter denied the NYPD's request, and sent an email that read, "We appreciate the timeliness and sensitivity of this matter, and have reviewed the reported Twitter account." The NYPD was--of course--furious, and sent a handful of cops to cover the theater until they track down the user. They've also filed a subpoena to force Twitter to hand over the information.

The incident sheds some light on the complicated nature of data requests for social networks. Should the chance to head off potential violence supersede privacy issues? Where do you draw the line? In the brave new world of the Internet, even big companies like Twitter don't seem to have it figured out just yet.