Scientology vs. the Internet: How the Monopoly on Secrecy Collapsed

This article examines Scientology's historical encounter with the emerging digital culture of the 1990s and the contemporary web. It charts the evolution from strict information control and hierarchical secrecy to an era of radical decentralization, where data copying and mirroring prevented effective censorship. The author discusses key legal cases, such as FACTNet and the Fishman Affidavit, which exposed the organization's secret doctrines. The text sheds light on the use of copyright as a tool to silence criticism and the emergence of digital resistance in the form of Project Chanology and Anonymous. This case study demonstrates how technology is transforming the ontology of information, rendering traditional reputational mechanisms ineffective in the face of the Streisand effect and the global circulation of data.