Remember SuperDAE? AKA Dylan Wheeler. He’s the hacker that revealed a huge number of industry secrets, including the existence of Durango, the Microsoft development kit that would become the Xbox One. Today, in an email sent to Australian Prime Minster Tony Abbot, other high ranking ministers and a number of journalists, SuperDAE said he is renouncing his Australian citizenship after accusations of harrassment from the police and other agencies.
To all whom it may concern,
When was it that Australia gave up it’s freedom? Why is it that the very country I once called home is now just short of what most would call a police state.
Why are you allowed to throw out basic human rights in favour of your own policies? Harass and defame citizens.
Support illegal surveilling of your own citizens, help out foreign law enforcement and completely ignore the core foundations of the country.
I’ve had FOIA’s on myself blatantly ignored from the state, with the AFP still yet to come to a conclusion.
I’ve had lawyers harassed and otherwise intimidated in such a way as to not feeling comfortable with proceeding anymore.
I don’t want to be known as an Australian anymore, and it’s made nearly impossible to denounce it via paperwork without being physically present, to which I do not feel safe, as I can’t even be guaranteed basic fundamentals like my right to liberty and security.
I have at no point in time been guaranteed the right to a fair trial, I’ve been harassed by the Western Australian police, for what? This false presence that you are allowed to accuse people of standing up for themselves, for expressing their own opinions and for being an Australian.
I once was proud to call myself Australian, and I love my country dearly, I grew up there and it will always have a place in my heart, but I can’t stand by and watch violation after violation and continue to call myself an Australian. I would consider myself a patriot, I support my country, and Australia will always be apart of me, but I can’t support a bastardised government and in the very essence of patriotism, I feel I need to denounce my citizenship, as I do not stand for the government, I do not support the government, and I will not let myself be associated with such abusive powers.
– The government can’t keep treating citizens as potential criminals.
– The government can’t keep denying their involvement in these international treaties/agreements that waive the privacy of their citizens.
It is for this reason, I no longer want to be known as an Australian, and I (Dylan Shane Terry Wheeler) denounce myself formally in this email as an Australian citizen as per my right laid out in Article 15(2) of the UDHR.
You can not take away the freedom of the people, you are playing a dangerous game and the stakes you are wagering are the citizens.
Regards,
Dylan Wheeler
Can SuperDAE actually renounce citizenship by simply declaring it? No, not exactly. There are forms to be filled in, documents to be filed. But, speaking to Gizmodo, SuperDAE doesn’t want to provide the government with the information it needs to make the renouncement formal.
So it’s almost a bluff. Why send such a high profile renouncing your citizenship when you’re not willing to actually renounce your citizenship? To make a statement? Most likely. SuperDAE is currently residing in another country, where he has residence. He wouldn’t be stateless, but it’s clear he no longer wants to be Australian.
Gizmodo Australia has the full story.
Comments
54 responses to “SuperDAE Doesn’t Want To Be Australian Anymore”
I don’t necessarily like that guy, but I agree with all of his sentiments.
Why did we let so much go with barely a whimper of protest.
Remember the outrage against the “Australia Card”, now we have far worse, and no one seems to care enough to do anything about it.
While I agree with you personally, anyone that voted Coalition and didn’t expect these outcomes (and worse!) is either entirely lying or entirely ignorant. We all knew who and what Abbott was before he was elected.
Well that is maybe taking it too far… but seriously, how did the people that voted coalition not see this being the way things would go?
FYI in order for the legislation to pass the senate both labor and coalition representatives needed to approve it. If you look into it you’ll see that only a minority of greens senators stood against the legislation in question (6 if I’m recalling correctly).
This legislation would’ve passed under both parties; it was a joint operation.
Edit: While I’m all for beating on Tony Abbot I feel it’s worth placing blame at both parties complicit in passing legislation that effectively destroys peoples right to privacy.
Dont get me wrong, I’m not for Labor/Liberal/The Greens. At this point I’m so dissolutioned with all of politics, I’m passed the point where any party/politician measures up.
WE NEED 2 STOP DA BOTES!
It’s not actually the government, it’s the agencies who are the ones abusing their powers.
Dude, the new season of the voice is starting! Who has time for silly politics and dem terrorists?
Why send such a high profile renouncing your citizenship when you’re not willing to actually renounce your citizenship?
Attention Seeking 101.
You may not like the guy, but its people like him and statements like this that are important for a free society
Not really. He invaded other people’s privacy and attempted to blackmail them into dropping their cases. You can’t do that and then cry foul about your own privacy being invaded as part of an ongoing investigation.
Yes he invaded other people’s privacy but his statement isn’t just about his own privacy rights being violated.
He refers to federal legislation that invades the privacy of all Australian citizens under the basis that we are all potential criminals and should be observed as such.
So yes the person making the statement is a hypocrite but this doesn’t denounce the validity of the statement itself.
Good job, Billy. You’ve alwAys been my favourite grandchild. You tell these kids to stop being idiots with their damn potty mouths and I’ll go make you some more cookies.
…. OMG how do you know my real name?! Is that you mr abbot sir?
The problem is people don’t take Hypocrites seriously. It doesn’t matter what they say, people will see the negative before the positive.
Massive hypocrites who feel they have a right to hack into corporations with zero consequences are important for a free society?
He openly admits leaking stolen information and then has the audacity to say stuff like: “The government can’t keep treating citizens as potential criminals.”
Newsflash bro: You ARE a criminal.
Newsflash; something’s wrong with society when people are more concerned about protecting the legal rights of corporations than their own rights.
This is ridiculous. So as long as my target is a soulless corporation I should be able to walk away scot free no matter what I do?
Actually that isn’t what I’ve stated at all. My comment refers to the people defending the privacy rights of corporations with regards to this article however have said nothing against being under constant surveillance.
Effectively translating to the fact that people are more comfortable fighting for corporations to not be under constant surveillance but don’t mind if individuals are.
I am curious to how you got to your interpretation of my statement though.
That is a bizarre translation. A failure to mention something doesn’t equate to being in support of it. I don’t like the new meta-data retention laws, nor do I like anyone hacking into corporations/governments/citizens information. They don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
Is it though? I’ve always believed the age old adage that silence is compliance. I disagree with the history of actions the individual in the article has carried out however the statements he makes now are a voice I think people need to hear.
A failure to mention/stand against something is complicit in accepting it. Especially in a democracy where the legislation being passed is only as good as the loudest group of voters (these days richest too).
@pylgrim
I think you’re missing his point.
He’s saying people should care at least as much, if not more, about their own rights as they do the rights of corporations (and that, as it stands, they don’t seem to). He’s not saying anything nearly as dramatic as people seem to think.
Making a statement of concern about peoples value of their own rights doesn’t equate to feeling that corporations shouldn’t have rights. The two are not mutually exclusive.
Ironically, if you’d stop jumping to (dramatically over sensationalised) conclusions, you may find he seems to have much the same view as you.
@pupp3tmast3r
I think so. Especially in a forum such as this one, where I personally don’t like seeing walls of text so tend to keep my posts shortish. I just chose to address his actions only. Would it have been fair/correct for me to have assumed that you agreed with Superdae’s actions until you clarified that you didn’t?
I do agree with your general sentiment though regarding silence and complicity. It’s like a favourite quote from a favourite movie of mine – Boondock Saints: “Now, we must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men.”
Or to quote the more succint John F Kennedy – “All it takes for evil to succeed, is for good men to do nothing”
@pupp3tmast3r I think the key element of that quote is the word ‘do’, as in ‘do nothing’, not ‘say nothing’. It’s not fair to judge whether people here are actually doing something to protect their rights solely on the basis of whether they mentioned the fact on this particular website in this particular comments section at this particular time.
When was the last time a corporation had YOUR best interests at heart?
I am not saying this guy does – but I would rather follow his movement than a big multinational looking out for their profits. That’s whats wrong with the world
The law isnt there to protect people like you and me – thats what he is trying to argue here. The law only protects corporations. He states he has tried to get FOI’s on himself, but has been denied. He has been denied to know information about himself that a corporation could probably request and get granted within a heartbeat. Dont you think there is something wrong with that? Thats not the Australia I want to live in
I know I’m guilty of ad hominem, but just as I would struggle to take seriously Floyd Mayweather telling me about how bad domestic violence is, or Donald Trump praising Mexico, I have a hard time listening to him complain about breaches of privacy.
As for the FOI’s, apart from knowing that the FOIA exists, I know very little else about it. I don’t know what information he’s requesting, whether he’s being denied his rights, or whether the government/police are acting lawfully.
The cynical explanation for why he’s arguing that the law serves corporations and not him is because he broke the law and extorted a corporation and is unhappy that there are consequences to that action. His argument may be valid, but its context seriously undermines its effectiveness. Politicians are a lot less likely to care about criticism of their laws when it comes from a criminal on the run.
I really wish Australia would stop making it’s criminals into heroes
I really wish Australia would stop making its heroes into criminals.
You’re right as well, of course. Ned Kelly and Chopper Reid come to mind. But while this guy is a bona fide criminal, it’s also true that our governments have been gradually peeling away our rights and anyone who objects is labelled as a terrorist.
This is the same guy who arrogantly thumbed his nose at the law and enjoyed his momentary infamy until he was arrested. Framing the way his particular case has been handled as an affront to all Australians strikes me much more as a ploy to stir support for himself than a genuine care for the best interests of the Australian people. It’s classic misdirection, that if he can appeal to people’s discontent with the government, they might be more willing to forget he’s a criminal.
It’s not that what he said doesn’t have merit, but that it has nothing to do with him and the way police have handled his case.
Probably true.
He seems to be angling to become the next Edward Snowden / Julian Assange, but it’s apparent that his motivations aren’t on the same wavelength.
It would be nice if the politicians stopped feeding the fire however.
http://goo.gl/EUJlSM
Whats this sick virus?
I’m torn on this. Yes, his rights were violated, but he violated the rights of others and refuses to accept responsibility for it. Just because those others were companies instead of people doesn’t justify it.
You can recognize that he is a criminal as well as recognizing that he is correct.
BTW, I can read the text on the blurred part of the image…
I was about to say the same thing. Black bars are the way to go here, that text is way too legible.
This entire thing comes off as childish insinuations and whining.
I’m not saying any of his arguments are technically wrong (or that I disagree with them) but he doesn’t explain or give any basis for any of it.
What policies exactly? How are we (him?) being harrassed and defamed?
How exactly?
What? I dunno, I live in Australia and feel pretty safe walking down the street, compare that to the USA where it ‘I wouldn’t go further down that street, you’ll get shot.’
Oh right you were refering to something else… Why not say that then?
Again, the core of his arguments may be correct but this just reads like a 13 year old having a bitch on Facebook. There’s nothing substantial here at all, having read the entire statement (and the article) I still have no idea wtf he is specifically worried about or why he is being harrassed. I assume it’s for hacking but even the article just says:
Gaming secrets?
Son, you’ve never been to the U.S. Stop the potty mouth. It’s a media release, not a thesis. Sources for his info are readily available- use the googles. You already agree they may be correct, so are you expecting him to do your protest for you? Lazy kids. In my day kids took their own stand, or added their own protest, not commented on it like a 13 year old brat.
You’re getting no cookies and I’m telling your mother about the potty mouth. Damn onion.
No I haven’t been to the U.S but my sister has twice and I know multiple people who live there. It is very much a case of “Don’t go past that point on this street after dark, don’t go down that street after… no just don’t. Don’t go near that town unless you really need to and even then, do it quickly..” I think I’ll take our security and freedom over that anyday. I’ve never been scared to walk around here practically anywhere at anytime…
No, I’m expecting him to actually explain what his protest is and why he is ‘so afraid of the evil Australia.’ I said he may be correct because he might be but without knowing wtf he’s talking about how would I know?
To quote him again
Last time I checked, the general public wasn’t being rounded up and sent to prison just for living in this country (pretty sure I’m not typing this from a cell anyway) so unless he’s got something more substantial then baseless rhetoric it’s just just that.
If you want to get into specifics, I think the metadata retention laws are rubbish and would happily agree that they should be scrapped, on the the other hand I am completely for the laws to remove citizenship from dual-nationals fighting against us. Of course he doesn’t specifically mention either of those, just nonsense like “I can’t even be guaranteed basic fundamentals like my right to liberty and security.”
If you need to research the facts behind a protest to understand wtf it’s even about, it’s not a very good protest. You can call me whatever you want for that.
That’s a pretty generalized statement with the US being such a geographically large country with varying levels or crime as all. But I can sympathize with your general assessment; I feel the same way about Redfern, Lakemba, etc.
Aside from that miss-step, I agree with your assessment of the situation.
I went and read about his police raid, turns out they had a warrant, turns out, they seized a bucketload of computerz, servers and hardrives, which, as it turns out, contains evidence of previous breaches into different corporations
So, the guy’s rooted, he f***ed around in corporate espionage and got burned but refuses to accept any responsibility for it. His claims are ridiculous, no fair trial? Don’t feel safe or at liberty? This is Australia, your claims are ridiculous, you’ll always have a lawyer, you’ll always have a right to appeal.
Stop making this an assertion about rights, liberties and surveillance, you’ve urinated over other people’s rights and now the authorities are taking you task. Giving back the Durango kit (which he asserts was about the Msoft Security and Espionage specialist being too rude) would have solved nothing.
Suck it up, this all SuperDAE’s own fault
At least you’re making a more cogent argument, cookie for you.
But stop hassling your brother about the Durangotron. It’s his turn and you just wait yours.
You’re missing the point there, bud.
Yes, he’s a dickhead. He hacked into a major corporation. He got caught red-handed. He deserved to be arrested and sent to jail.
But it’s not just his freedoms that he’s talking about. It’s every Australian’s freedoms.
At this point, I’m half considering jumping ship with him. Our government are ****ing incompetent and aren’t far off from a police state and the ALP sits around doing nothing and hoping, by some miracle, for an election victory. And courtesy of preferential voting, none of the minor parties that oppose this (The Greens, the Liberal Democrats, etc.) actually stand a chance of winning.
It’s actually pretty sad if you think about it.
So if/when you “jump ship with him”, what do you do, as you forfeit your right to live here as a citizen? Do you file for a visa to be allowed to stay or voluntarily leave the country?
Volutarily leave.
Good riddance? You committed crimes against an international corporation (which, by the way, it’s comprised of PEOPLE) and complain about being subjected to the laws and methods proper of that country? That only goes to show that he committed those crimes because he believed that living in Australia would act as a shield to get away with it, and now he’s experiencing the rude awakening of truth.
He’s a hypocrite, he invaded privacy, so his claim that his was breached is invalid. However the rest of his claims are quite valid.
Our government don’t give too fucks about us, or the basic human rights. The whole detention center debacle is proof of that.
Good. He should be aware that if he goes anywhere else in the world there’s a good chance the Government there will do a LOT worse if he pulls that shit again.
If you love your own personal freedoms then you should only agree more. It’s unacceptable when one dickhead and his computer can unilaterally damage the work of major, regulated organisations and governments.
Technology empowers individuals to achieve things far greater than they otherwise could, when individuals abuse that power to damage things above their station then the government has no choice but to monitor and regulate them (and the rest of us at the same time).
There were news articles not that long ago that said he’d fled to Europe, and Australia had alerted Interpol. I was surprised Kotaku didn’t cover the news, or even mention it in this article. Running won’t save him from answering for his crimes, but it will make it a lot worse for him when they do inevitably catch him.
I always wondered what happened with that whole “dead man switch” and that gigantic torrent he set up. Nothing seemed to come of it, or at least nothing that got mentioned anywhere.
All politicians are corrupt
Australia doesn’t want you either.
Australians have never valued their freedom or rights. Everyone’s got the “nah she’ll be right” attitude and don’t ever think of the long term consequences of right-degarding legislation being introduced every year. It happens so gradually that no one notices, or understands the concept of scope creep.
I mean, democracy my ass; compulsory voting for Mickey Mouse or Donald duck. No other choice if you disagree with either parties policies. Why the heck should I have to vote for the lesser of two evils? Contradiction of democracy. Period.
Ignore the hypocrisy of this guy and look at the big picture: Australia is a nation of clowns and a police state. Look at the idiots STILL debating gay marriage, medicinal weed and continues to ban video games/movies/books.