The FBI launched Operation Pacifier well over a year ago and it's alleged that they received approval from executives with both the DOJ and the FBI, according to a court transcript.
Operation Pacifier involved the FBI taking over control of a prominent child porn site on the dark web and rather than close it down, they continued running it in an effort to track those who were accessing the material.
In taking this route, the FBI themselves engaged in questionable behavior by distributing the sensitive and illegal material.
The operation has been referred to by some law enforcement officials as one of the most historic investigations surrounding child sexual abuse online.
The FBI's hacking campaign ended-up going global, reaching Austria, Greece, Chile, the U.S., and other areas. The agency delivered malware to thousands of criminal suspects who allegedly visited the site. As a result of the operation, it's said that hundreds of paedophiles have been arrested and there have even been some children who've allegedly been rescued.
As a consequence of the operation, a Florida man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for having created the website. And this is interesting considering that this sentence is less of a penalty than alleged Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht was given; he received two life sentences without any chance for parole.
Was it a success?
Well, the website allegedly had around 150,000 members and only around 870 people have been identified and charged so far around the world.
This is only about 0.58 percent of a success rate.
That's not all. Just a couple of months ago, it was reported that the DOJ filed a motion in court to dismiss their indictment against the site because they didn't want to release details about their hacking tool (NIT) in the discovery portion of the trial to the defense.
With them being reluctant to divulge this information and it causing classification issues with key evidence for the discovery process, it's suggested that it could contribute to the dismissal of all cases related to Operation Pacifier.
A Closer Look At The Details
Many legal experts have sternly criticized the FBI for their actions, insisting that the government should never have any part in distributing such material.
At least 30 different legal teams in the U.S. have come together to try and counter the evidence reaped from the hacking campaign.
They believe that the evidence should be dismissed in court because the warrant is said to be legally contentious. This is because the FBI went about allegedly hacking thousands of different computers from just one warrant.
When it comes to this sort of issue, because of it being an emotionally-charged topic, many might quickly think well to hell with having the proper warrants or following the appropriate procedures, because after all they're trying to catch child predators here. But the thing with due process is that if you don't respect that right for everyone, then you risk losing that right for your own self.
And after all of that work and ethical compromise, the DOJ then goes and drops charges against suspects involved in the case because they don't want to reveal details about their tools.
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Sources:
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/doj-fbi-child-pornography-sting-playpen-court-transcripts
https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/01/27/the-ethics-of-a-child-pornography-sting/the-government-shouldnt-distribute-child-pornography-period
https://steemit.com/politics/@doitvoluntarily/ross-ulbricht-s-defense-team-files-appeal
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/child-porn-sting-goes-global-fbi-hacked-computers-in-denmark-greece-chile
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/fbis-mass-hack-playpen-operation-pacifier-hit-50-computers-in-austria
http://www.newsweek.com/child-pornography-fbi-investigation-operation-pacifier-sentence-593223
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/europol-fbi-joint-investigation-operation-pacifier-uncovers-global-paedophilia-ring-870-arrests-a7722821.html
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/here-is-the-warrant-the-fbi-used-to-hack-over-a-thousand-computers
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/dozens-of-lawyers-across-the-us-fight-the-fbis-mass-hacking-campaign-playpen
https://thenextweb.com/insider/2017/03/06/court-ruling-leaves-fbi-the-only-proven-criminal-in-child-porn-case/#.tnw_B7bPEEhy
https://www.deepdotweb.com/2017/05/24/topic-dojs-operation-pacifier-acquittal/
https://www.wired.com/2017/03/feds-rather-drop-child-porn-case-give-exploit/
The last time I checked, international hacking was being considered an act of war. I think, if we disbanded and arrested everyone connected with ANY agency, bureau, service, or department, that crime would dwindle to nothing. If the FBI was running a pedo site, they should all go to prison, now, permanently. No justification is acceptable, none.
They probably want to drop the cases because too many high level politicians got caught in their trap. The "hacking tool" blather is just a cover story.
This is absolutely not ok!!! Thank you!
Following
This sounds like an episode of Law & Order SUV where they find out it's all a cover up and a conspiracy and the higher up the chain they go they keep finding out it's more and more of a conspiracy. I wonder where you come up with all your ideas every day, it seems like you've always got something interesting in the works.
good idea for an ep lol:)
Talk about incompetence, deciet, and purposefully built get out of jail free card. Its amazing the way the government continues to screw everything it touches to crap.
Thanks for the great post
on our dime :)
Hmmm! Big brother in the sky is now watching little sister. When can we expect things to be ethical and morally correct again in the United States. When, ill tell you when, when we get fake news shutdown and srart going after real news. Enough is enough america.
Wow.. That's disturbing.
Good article 👍
This reminds me of Operation Fast & Furious by the ATF.
Knowingly and illegally give firearms to people so you can "trace" them and then lose track of them. Ultimately having at least one of those firearms used to kill a US Border Patrol Agent.
Great read. Am I the only one who thinks the sentences applied to guys who abuse children are way too soft? I know those who get caught aren't well received by other inmates but seriously... what they do i inhumane.
Also, the deep web is filled with their crappy material I have personally never came accross it(thank god), but I'm a really curious guy and heard that it is pretty much everywhere. The other day I even found out a lady was banned from YouTube for breastfeeding her kid in frost of the camera in a suggestive way....
This needs to be stopped, but I' also not sure how I feel about the FBI running a website with this type of content and distributing it to barely catch any bad guys
it is shocking how lenient you find the sentences sometimes are, not even for child predators but for many violent crimes, compared to those who are caught with a couple of joints on them.
*I don't believe that getting stricter in punishment deters or prevents crime in any way though, but it is interesting to observe the distribution of "justice"
I honestly don't think our current system is effective, I believe it needs to be reworked in order to work properly. Most criminals who get out of prison just commit anther crime and go back in... when caught. It's ridiculous
it's true, it doesn't look like they are interested in fostering genuine rehabilitation..
The FBI may as well disclose their 'tools' now, and close the case... It's like a sacrifice fly... because they will probably be hacked / leaked next week, or sooner than later. I mean, after the NSA, and CIA, aren't they next in line?
Only in America... (Well not where I live at least, thankfully)
hmmmmmm, is this the fast and furious of child pornography, and who in the world would sign on for this , somebody had to find, moniter and distribute this garbage, who could stand to look at it, so would you have to be twisted in the first place to even begin thinking about doing this as our job.
Good article, but I really do wish is was easier to get perverts like those in jail, and in the other hand, the fact the the FBI does not want to reveal how they got the info is very suspicious...