The Wau Holland Foundation (German: Wau Holland Stiftung; WHS) is a nonprofit foundation based in Hamburg, Germany.
It was established in 2003 in memory of Wau Holland, co-founder of the Chaos Computer Club. Loosely connected with the Chaos Computer Club, the foundation aims to preserve and further Holland's ideas in fields such as technology assessment, the history of technology and freedom of information. Specifically, it promotes the use of electronic media for educational purposes. The Vice President of the Wau Holland Foundation is Andy Müller-Maguhn, a friend of Julian Assange's.
Foundation projects include the "Archive of Contemporary History of Technology (Hacker archive)", which documents the history of the hacker scene, and a campaign against voting machines (both in collaboration with the Chaos Computer Club). The foundation processes donations in Europe to support the WikiLeaks organization and Julian Assange's defense, and it also processes proceeds from the AssangeDAO. [1] [2]
As of December 2010, their endowment was about 62,000 €. It also owns land (valued at about 1500 €), currently leased to a public institution. [3]
In December 2010, the Wau Holland Foundation got in trouble with authorities for not filing it accounts on time. [4] On October 25, 2012, the Hamburg Tax Office retroactively revoked its non-profit status for 2010 because they decided that "the forwarding of donations to WikiLeaks and/or to the individuals behind the organization" meant the Wau Holland Foundation "did not satisfy the condition for the direct pursuit of tax-advantaged purposes". [5] The Hamburg Tax Office rejected a complaint filed by the Wau Holland Foundation about the decision. [5] Its charitable status was reinstated on 12 December 2012, applied retroactively for 2011 and 2012. [6] [ non-primary source needed ]
In March 2024, the Wau Holland Foundation announced that its non-profit status for 2020 had been revoked in a letter dated February 26, 2024 and that they would appeal the decision. [7] In June 2024, the Wau Holland Foundation announced that its non-profit status for 2020 had been regained. [8]
The foundation processes donations in Europe to support the WikiLeaks organization and Julian Assange's defense, and in 2022 it processed proceeds from the AssangeDAO. [1] [2]
Between October 2009 when it began accepting donations on WikiLeaks' behalf and December 2010, the foundation collected over $1.9 million USD. [9] On 4 December 2010, PayPal turned off donations in response to the foundation's connection to WikiLeaks, alleging that the account was being used for "activities that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity." [10] On 8 December 2010 the foundation released a press statement, saying it has filed legal action against PayPal for blocking its account and for libel due to PayPal's allegations of "illegal activity." [11]
Andy Müller-Maguhn is a member of the German hacker association Chaos Computer Club (CCC). Having been a member since 1986, he was appointed as a spokesman for the club in 1990, and later served on its board until 2012. He runs a company that develops cryptophones.
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Bernd Fix is a German hacker and computer security expert.
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WikiLeaks began publishing the United States diplomatic cables leak on 28 November 2010. The documents included classified cables that had been sent to the U.S. State Department by its consulates, embassies, and diplomatic missions around the world. The cables were dated between December 1966 and February 2010, and contained assessments of host countries and their officials. The publication of the cables produced varying responses around the world.
Daniel Domscheit-Berg, previously known under the pseudonym Daniel Schmitt, is a German technology activist. He is best known as the former spokesperson for WikiLeaks and the author of Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World's Most Dangerous Website (2011).
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