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A US judge overseeing an FBI "Playpen case" has told agents to reveal whether or not their investigative hacking was approved by the White House.
The case is one of several the Feds are pursuing against more than 100 alleged users of the child sex abuse material exchange network called the Playpen. The prosecutions have become test grounds over investigators' use of hacking tools to unmask Tor users – Playpen was hidden in the Tor network and agents injected tracking software into Playpen visitors' browsers to identify users.
In June, a judge hearing one of the Playpen cases in Virginia ruled that the FBI can hack any computer in any country, if it wants.
During its investigation, the FBI compromised Playpen's Tor-protected distribution servers, leaving them in operation to keep users visiting the service. The Feds then hacked the targets' computers to identify the owners.
It's not a crime if the President orders it.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Thursday October 27 2016, @01:15PM
You're right, but we're already there. Read the Snowden documents about how the NSA does that. The flip side is also that the government has given itself permission to ignore real evidence. The FBI can both plant evidence that isn't there, and ignore evidence that is really there. Power does what it wants now, with no constraints.
Won't that be fun when people who have an enemies list that's 30-years long take over? Labor activists, conservatives, and all who don't kiss the ring will learn.
Washington DC delenda est.