Anonymous plans Facebook attack

Hacktivist group Anonymous has announced plans to "destroy" social networking platform Facebook on 5 November this year.

In a video posted on YouTube, the group said the attack, which it calls Operation Facebook, was prompted by Facebook making money from its users' private details.

"Everything you do on Facebook stays on Facebook regardless of your 'privacy' settings, and deleting your account is impossible. Even if you 'delete' your account, all your personal info stays on Facebook and can be recovered at any time," a heavily processed and robotic voice states in the video.

The voice continues to claim that the web site has been selling users' information to governments.

"Facebook has been selling information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to information security firms so that they can spy on people from all around the world," it says.

And in a possible reference to recent civil unrest in parts of Africa, the Middle East and the UK, the voice adds that the battle is for informed consent.

"The riots are under way. It is not a battle over the future of privacy and publicity. It is a battle for choice and informed consent.

"When a service is 'free,' it really means they're making money off of you and your information."

Anonymous has been attempting to set up its own social network, called Anonplus, having been banned from Google+ because it is a group, not an individual.

However, although not yet live, the holding page for the service was itself recently hacked and defaced by a group of Turkish hackers.