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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday March 07 2017, @03:39AM   Printer-friendly
from the we-could-tell-you-but-then-... dept.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/03/doj-drops-case-against-child-porn-suspect-rather-than-disclose-fbi-hack/

Rather than share the now-classified technological means that investigators used to locate a child porn suspect, federal prosecutors in Washington state have dropped all charges against a man accused of accessing Playpen, a notorious and now-shuttered website.

The case, United States v. Jay Michaud, is one of nearly 200 cases nationwide that have raised new questions about the appropriate limitations on the government's ability to hack criminal suspects. Michaud marks just the second time that prosecutors have asked that [the] case be dismissed.

"The government must now choose between disclosure of classified information and dismissal of its indictment," Annette Hayes, a federal prosecutor, wrote in a court filing on Friday. "Disclosure is not currently an option. Dismissal without prejudice leaves open the possibility that the government could bring new charges should there come a time within the statute of limitations when and the government be in a position to provide the requested discovery."

https://threatpost.com/doj-dismisses-playpen-case-to-keep-tor-hack-private/124102/

Intent on keeping details private about how it hacked the Tor browser, prosecutors with the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday asked to dismiss a case involving a suspect who visited the Playpen dark web child pornography site in 2015.

"The government must now choose between disclosure of classified information and dismissal of its indictment," Annette Hayes, a US attorney, wrote in a court filing (.PDF) on Friday. "Disclosure is not currently an option."

Hayes asked the court to drop charges around the case without prejudice, insisting the government has "simply acted to protect highly sensitive information from criminal discovery as was its obligation." There's a chance, if the exploit is unclassified later down the line, the government could reopen its case, she claims.

"Dismissal without prejudice leaves open the possibility that the government could bring new charges should there come a time within the statute of limitations when and the government be in a position to provide the requested discovery," Hayes wrote.

News the government is unwilling to disclose the exploit–something the FBI refers to as a "Network Investigative Technique" (NIT)–has seemingly been a long time coming; the DOJ has remained resolute to keeping the exploit under wraps. Last April the FBI refused to comply with the judge's request to describe how it compromised the Tor browser.

Previously: FBI Let Alleged Pedo Walk Free Rather Than Explain How They Snared Him


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 07 2017, @07:02PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 07 2017, @07:02PM (#476131)

    How many shekels per mina for one of your god's law child brides, Mikeeeee?