Jay Syrmopoulos
Free Thought Project
After a nearly two-year investigation, 870 suspected pedophiles have been arrested across the world, and least 259 sexually abused children have been identified in the wake of major underground online global pedophilia network being taken down, according to the FBI and European authorities.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Europol announced the arrests on Friday, only days after a court sentenced Florida-based Steven Chase, founder of the so-called Playpen pedophilia network, to 30 years in prison.
The arrest of Chase in December 2014 was the impetus for a global probe into the users of the members-only forum, which culminated in the nearly 900 arrests.
Unsurprisingly, this massive pedophile bust has failed to crack the pervasive US media censorship regime, as not a single mainstream corporate media source in the United States has reported on this story. Perhaps, within those 900 sickos, there are some folks who have enough power not to let their names out.
According to a report by German media conglomerate, Deutsche Welle:
And while virtually everyone applauds the arrest of pedophiles, civil libertarians have pushed back as to the legality and manner in which the FBI operated, rightly claiming that a single search warrant should not allow law enforcement to hack into and search over 1,000 computers, according to comments made by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) regarding "Operation Pacifier."
"The warrant here did not identify any particular person to search or seize. Nor did it identify any specific user of the targeted website," the EFF said. "It did not even attempt to describe any series or group of particular users."
In a statement Friday, Steven Wilson, head of Europol's European Cybercrime Center, said the case demonstrated how law enforcement needs to use such methods to fight criminals who can hide behind online anonymization and encryption programs.
"We need to balance the rights of victims versus the right to privacy," he said. "If we operate by 19th century legal principles then we are unable to effectively tackle crime at the highest level." Essentially, Wilson is trying to claim there is virtue in giving up liberty for safety - a complete and utter fallacy of the highest order - but which underpins the rise of the ever-growing global police state that is built upon a framework of an unflinching military-intelligence-industrial complex with imperial ambitions.
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Free Thought Project
After a nearly two-year investigation, 870 suspected pedophiles have been arrested across the world, and least 259 sexually abused children have been identified in the wake of major underground online global pedophilia network being taken down, according to the FBI and European authorities.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Europol announced the arrests on Friday, only days after a court sentenced Florida-based Steven Chase, founder of the so-called Playpen pedophilia network, to 30 years in prison.
The arrest of Chase in December 2014 was the impetus for a global probe into the users of the members-only forum, which culminated in the nearly 900 arrests.
Unsurprisingly, this massive pedophile bust has failed to crack the pervasive US media censorship regime, as not a single mainstream corporate media source in the United States has reported on this story. Perhaps, within those 900 sickos, there are some folks who have enough power not to let their names out.
According to a report by German media conglomerate, Deutsche Welle:
Playpen was accessible in what is known as the "darknet," where internet users can engage in illegal activities using encryption and anonymity software in an effort to hide their identities. The secret network allowed anonymous users to engage in a forum where they could share photos and videos showing the sexual abuse of children.Law enforcement authorities then took over the network and operated the pedophile site for several weeks - technically making them facilitators of child pornography themselves — hacking and tracking users of the site by installing malware onto their computers.
As part of its investigation, called "Operation Pacifier," the FBI managed to use to malware to seize the Playpen website and server, which allowed authorities to track and identify Playpen users.
And while virtually everyone applauds the arrest of pedophiles, civil libertarians have pushed back as to the legality and manner in which the FBI operated, rightly claiming that a single search warrant should not allow law enforcement to hack into and search over 1,000 computers, according to comments made by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) regarding "Operation Pacifier."
"The warrant here did not identify any particular person to search or seize. Nor did it identify any specific user of the targeted website," the EFF said. "It did not even attempt to describe any series or group of particular users."
In a statement Friday, Steven Wilson, head of Europol's European Cybercrime Center, said the case demonstrated how law enforcement needs to use such methods to fight criminals who can hide behind online anonymization and encryption programs.
"We need to balance the rights of victims versus the right to privacy," he said. "If we operate by 19th century legal principles then we are unable to effectively tackle crime at the highest level." Essentially, Wilson is trying to claim there is virtue in giving up liberty for safety - a complete and utter fallacy of the highest order - but which underpins the rise of the ever-growing global police state that is built upon a framework of an unflinching military-intelligence-industrial complex with imperial ambitions.
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