Crash Override Network

History

It was founded by game developers Zoë Quinn and Alex Lifschitz, and staffed by victims of online abuse whose identities are kept anonymous outside the group. Quinn and Lifschitz are victims of online abuse in the Gamergate controversy, having both received death threats and doxing attacks.

Crash Override formed a partnership with Feminist Frequency in March 2016. Feminist Frequency, a 501(c)3 non profit organization is the fiscal sponsor of Crash Override.

Mission

The founders of the organisation want it to be considered a conversation starter, a repository for addressing problems that others in and out of the gaming community "have long hoped would simply go away." The organisation's services are divided into three categories: ongoing assistance for victims, crisis centre support, and community outreach. They provide post-crisis counselling services, help seeking shelter, and access to experts in information security, white hat hacking, law enforcement, public relations and threat monitoring. The network tailors a unique plan of action for each victim and works with law enforcement, the media, and social media. They promise to help victims regardless of previous affiliations and ideology, including Gamergate supporters.

The group has been credited with defusing a swatting attack by advising the target to preemptively contact the police. Quinn said the launch of Crash Override Network led to a renewed and heightened campaign of abuse, and the website underwent daily hack attempts. In May 2015 the organisation became an official Twitter trusted safety resource.

Criticism

In September 2016, David Pakman discussed a series of leaked Skype chat logs and Trello page documents that appeared to show future members of Crash Override Network assembling dossiers on various individuals related to the Gamergate controversy, including himself; Pakman characterized the activity as "opposition research".