History

The world has changed in the past 42 years since the Chaos Computer Club set out to analyse the impact of technological development on people and society. Technology and electronic communication are now a driving force and enable many new developments.

The creative and critical use of computers is a topic that concerns everyone. As the public becomes increasingly engaged with hacking, our responsibility grows to communicate values and positively influence society in in line with our principles.

Abuse of technology

On 8 May 1945, the Allies liberated Germany from National Socialism – the German murder machine was smashed. Discussions about technology for its own sake, without considering its societal consequences, are impossible. The logistics of the Holocaust, for example, were driven by Hollerith punch card machines. Trains rolled on on sophisticated railway networks to the extermination camps. Technology-loving Nazi engineers tinkered with ‘weapons of retaliation’.

Hacking per se

The CCC has always made it abundantly clear that responsible behaviour is a prerequisite to hacking. Our mantra “use public data, protect private data” applies to everybody – including companies and governments.

For us, the hacker's ethics are way more than just a suggestion for ethical conduct. It challenges us to critically reflect on the apparent status quo and to mistrust authorities, because the truth lies beyond appearances. We abstract from superficialities. We strive to improve systems and processes in order to shape society according to the hacker's ethics.

In the past, we naïvely assumed that merely understanding machines would lead to a better world for everyone. We now understand that this will not suffice.

Core values and beliefs

Open-mindedness has been a principle of the Chaos Computer Club. We gladly welcome humans of all walks of life with new ideas and perspectives – as long as these do not conflict with our values. These new arrivals enrich the Club, they introduce new topics and broaden our diversity of knowledge. What started as a 'computer hacker's association' in the 80s has developed into a competency hive in topics including human rights, diversity, sustainability, climate change, abuse of power, surveillance, technology assessment, free software and hardware, free knowledge, freedom of information, state hacking, and voting machines.

But: Openness is not arbitrary. Even when it proved valuable in the past, we must not forget its boundaries and – more importantly – its historic implications. This becomes particularly crucial against a backdrop of a recent resurgence of nationalism, and the rise of right-wing extremism, racist exclusion and social exploitation.

Hacking is so much more than just soldering irons and writing software! It's about furthering a better and free society. Our horizon extends far beyond the edge of our screens.

Making a statement

We are a galactic community of living beings, indiscriminate of age, gender, origin and social status, actively promoting freedom of information, deeply concerned with the effect of technological change on society and the individual alike, striving to further knowledge of these developments. But whoever holds beliefs rooted in racism, exclusion, and the associated ideology of structural and physical violence has abandoned discourse and does not meet our expectations of excellent behaviour.

Those who aim to destroy coexistence in society and work toward an alternative society with principles based on chauvinism and nationalism are working against the moral principles that unite us as a club.

The CCC declares representing racism and fascism, as well as trivialising historical and current violence, to be incompatible with a membership in our ranks.

Adopted on 6 April 2025