The proposed law was brought forth by Senator Federico Doring from the ruling National Action Party, and would make it a criminal offense to upload any music, books, or video content without receiving permission from the copyright holders.
The crackdown caught the attention of the "hacktivist" group Anonymous, who proceeded to bring down the websites of the Senate, the Chamber of Deputies and the Interior Ministry.
The Interior Minister, Alejandor Poire confirmed that the website had been hit by a denial-of-service (DDOS) attack.
This is the latest in a consistent string of international attacks perpetuated by the group, which is protesting against any laws or actions taken by governments to restrict the flow of information. This included the attack on several U.S. government websites in retaliation for the shutdown of file-sharing website Megaupload.
Anonymous posted a video speaking out against the proposed bill on YouTube which said:
"We demand the Mexican government not continue with this law because they will take away our freedom of speech and file sharing." (SIC)
The bill is said to be similar to that of the proposed U.S. SOPA act in which Anonymous actively protested along with Google and Wikipedia.
The group was called a "terrorist" group by Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC) Chairman, Dana White last week. The UFC, like most sports and entertainment networks, has been concerned about diminishing sales of its DVDs and broadcasts. White also made claims that the hacking group might have inadvertently revived the SOPA act through their attack.
After engaging in an intense exchange with Anonymous on Twitter, the group retaliated by posting White’s mobile number, social security details, and criminal record online using the file sharing site Pastebin. The group also hacked into the UFC website, redirecting web surfers to Neo-Nazi hate sites.
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