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from the gotta-play-by-the-rules-and-thems-the-rules dept.
AP reports that a federal appeals court has overturned a civilian's conviction for possessing and distributing child pornography because he was found out by a military investigator who used a high-powered software program in 2010 to search computers throughout the state of Washington. When the program picked up two child porn images and a video, the agent contacted the FBI, which tracked down the suspect's name and address. The naval office then got in touch with local police, who obtained a search warrant. The Department of Homeland Security later got a federal search warrant, and the suspect was charged in federal court.
When the search was challenged, the government argued that the search was justified because there are military bases in the greater Seattle area, and it's a crime for military members to distribute child pornography. Those actions, the three-judge panel said, violated the Posse Comitatus Act, the 1878 law that prohibits the U.S. military from taking part in civilian law enforcement activities. The ruling said the search was so sweeping, it shows "a profound lack of regard for the important limitations on the role of the military in our civilian society." It noted "abundant evidence" that the Navy frequently hacks into civilian computers to search for evidence of child pornography and turn it over to the police if the computer owner has no relation to the military. "This is, literally, the militarization of the police," says defense attorney Erik Levin. "They have enough funding that they can go out and stray from the core mission of national security and get into local law enforcement."
(Score: 3, Interesting) by nukkel on Wednesday September 17 2014, @06:57PM
The police/politicians don't give a shit about the producers. What they want is a mechanism to implement censorship on the internet and to preempt anonymous and pseudonymous speech on the internet. Child porn (whatever the definition) is the ideal vehicle to push this agenda with minimal backlash from the public opinion. Once the mechanism is in place, it won't be long before it's being used to ban/censor other kinds of 'unfavorable' speech as well.
There's nothing irrational about this -- why go after the producers and kill off the scapegoat?
(Score: 1) by anubi on Thursday September 18 2014, @04:29AM
Exactly.
They are sharpening the axe they will be needing to control sedition when the shit hits the fan ( economic meltdown ).
But, for now, child porn is the training wheels, funded by the very ones who are going to get nailed by this technology.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]