Anonymous launches AnonPlus social network after Google+ ban

Hacking group Anonymous has launched a social network which it said will allow people to interact with others anonymously in an uncontrolled environment.

Anonymous has vowed that AnonPlus will be different from the likes of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, which all have community standards in place to protect subscribers and uphold particular ethics.

The group explained that AnonPlus is in response to social networking site Google+ banning Anonymous because of the content it was posting.

"This is the sad fact of what happens across the internet when you walk to a different beat of the drum," said Anonymous in its Your Anon News blog.

"We've all heard the stories of activists being banned from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and governments blocking their people from these sites as well through organised black outs. That day has come to an end."

Anonymous has stated that AnonPlus, while not yet ready, supports "social networking anonymously", and "will not tolerate being shut down, censored, or oppressed". 

"This lil info dump of a site is here simply to dispense info. Soon the actual site will go up and you can begin to interact with it. This project is not overnight and will take many of those out there who simply want a better internet," noted a post on the home page.

Google could not immediately comment on why it had banned Anonymous from its social network.

Targets of the now infamous hacking group include a long list of organisations, governments and religious groups, such as Sony, the Church of Scientology and a Spanish police site, all of which take part in activities that Anonymous opposes.

Military contractor Booz Allen Hamilton and agricultural company Monsanto were the most recent victims of Anonymous attacks.