The shutting down of the WikiLeaks website due to financial problems is unfortunate, even though it had become almost inevitable that its end was nigh. Organisations such as Mastercard, Visa, Western Union and PayPal, though not
directly funding WikiLeaks, were effective channels for those who wanted to donate to it from across the world. Once they withdrew support, the donations dried up and the website ran out of cash, after which staying afloat was a struggle.
Though no one will officially admit it, the connection between these organisations’ refusal to allow donations to go through them and the United States government’s displeasure at disclosures made by WikiLeaks is too blatant to be ignored. Ever since WikiLeaks put out thousands of confidential US diplomatic documents, including embassy cables, the Obama administration made no secret of its anger. Visa, Mastercard, etc. drew their shutters down soon after. Ironically, around the time the leaks began, Americans were hailing the role of the Internet in engendering transparency in the Arab world.
Without money, WikiLeaks has no future. Given that its founder Julian Assange too is fighting extradition battles, it appears that the days of this pathbreaking site, which demonstrated the power of online media, are numbered. Powerful interests — governments and global financial institutions — will doubtless be pleased as they felt threatened by the public disclosure of their inner workings. But if this temporary shutdown becomes permanent, it will be sad news for all those who believe the Internet is the ideal platform to bring more openness and transparency into governance and business.