Awwight, what's goin' on 'ere, sunshine? Writing a site naming and shaming us bobbies, are we? *thwack* While the takedown didn't quite happen like that, the metropolitan police did successfully make Fitwatch's hosting provider shut the website down. But why?
It came after Fitwatch wrote an article to rioting students involved in a mega-protest (which was quite violent—see video footage here), advising them on how to avoid getting arrested for smashing in windows and so on. The site got taken down by provider Justhost.com on Monday because it was "attempting to pervert the course of justice", but over 100 different websites took umbrage at the coppers' misuse of power, and republished the article in question.
What of Fitwatch, though? They've started up again under a different host, and have published a post today saying "we're back. Thanks to the metropolitan police for giving us such huge publicity and making us even stronger." Crediting their "secure server, massive coverage and a clear message that we're here to stay," Fitwatch looks to stay in business. [Fitwatch via The Guardian via Boing Boing]