Pro-choice activists on TikTok say they are on standby, preparing to once again flood a Texas-based anti-abortion website with false tips if it finds a new hosting service.
As a result of the newly instated abortion law – which went into effect on September 1st – abortions in Texas past the sixth week of pregnancy are now illegal. Any abortionist or doctor breaching this ban can be taken to court and faces a minimum of $10,000 in damage if they lose.
In an effort to ensure these penalties are imposed, pro-life organization Texas Right to Life launched prolifewhisteblower.com. On this website, people could submit anonymous reports of law violators with visual proof. It has since been taken down over difficulties in finding a new hosting service.
“We took [prolifewhisteblower.com] down once. We can do it again,” Texas-local Olivia Julianna told 9-to-5. She was the first to think of the idea to spam the website with false tips, motivating her followers to do the same via TikTok – a popular app where users can post short videos.
According to Julianna, in case of the website’s reappearance, pro-choice activists will need to focus on boycotting and exposing future hosting services. “It really isn’t about sending fake tips anymore. It’s about pressuring the hosting site to drop them with economic pressure,” she clarified.
While TikTokers contributed to the crashing of the anti-abortion website, the real reason it was taken down lies in its struggle to find a hosting company whose terms of services it doesn’t violate. Many explicitly forbid the gathering of information on third parties who are unaware of and non-consenting to this.
Originally registered with GoDaddy, this host dropped the website shortly after for this very reason, according to WIRED. If a user currently attempts to go to prolifewhisteblower.com, the URL redirects them to the homepage of Texas Right to Life.
The domain now continues to be registered with hosting service Epik, but only so long as third-party data collection does not restart.
In a statement on September 6th, Texas Right to Life spokesperson Kim Schwartz clarified that a new host had already been found but that security protocols still needed to be established.
Ohio-based student Brittney Gorelick – who similarly participated in the TikTok takedown effort by sending in false tips, is apprehensive about the current situation. “It’s a relief that the website is taken down, but right now it’s just a waiting game.” She will likewise participate in renewed pro-choice activism if the need arises.
“We have to hold on and see if there’s a way that we can try and affect it later,” Gorelick added, speculating the potential return of a more rudimentary system where filing a report will be done at a police station rather than through online tips. “And then there’s no way that a bunch of people on TikTok can create change.”
Whether the pro-life whistleblower website will be able to return and successfully stay online remains uncertain.
Texas Right to Life was unavailable for confirmation.
Photo credit: Solen Feyissa on Unsplash
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