by Sarah Kessler
Turkish police have arrested 32 people that they believe played a role in taking down government websites on Thursday.
A loosely affiliated group of hackers known as Anonymous attacked the websites in response to Internet filters that Turkey plans to implement in August, The Wall Street Journal reports. Government officials say the mandatory filters are intended to protect web users, but many consider the filters to be a censorship effort.
Websites claiming to represent Anonymous, which is known for launching coordinated cyberattacks on corporate and government websites, announced plans to “fight” the Turkish government in response to the filters.
The 32 arrests were made on Sunday, the day of Turkey’s national elections, in 12 different cities. Eight of the people arrested were minors and one was a lawyer, according to Turkish news outlet Anadolu Ajansi.
Turkey isn’t the only country cracking down on hackers.
On June 10, police in Spain arrested three people described as members of Anonymous after they found evidence suggesting that the suspects were involved in attacks on numerous government websites, as well as the cyberattack that shut down Sony’s PlayStation Network for more than a month.