Changes between Version 1 and Version 2 of AttemptedSeizure

Timestamp:

Apr 12, 2008, 4:45:12 AM (16 years ago)

Author:

Micah Anderson

Comment:

--

AttemptedSeizure

@@ -8 +8 @@
 disclosure of information identifying an indiscriminately large number of users of a website devoted to political discourse. They weren't wanting the specific log entries for these posts, but rather all of the log data that was retained for the 48 hours in question. The legal argument was that besides the protections afforded to the press this was akin to a fishing expedition which would identify every single person who visited the website during this period, and what they were reading or posting. This kind of fishing expedition is a great way to chill political speech and was famously tried in 1956 in Alabama to force the NAACP to give up its membership lists, which eventually the Supreme Court stopped from happening.
 
+When the FBI found out that the IMC was pursuing all legal possibilities for squashing this order, the pressure was intensified as IMC received contact from the FBI to let them know that if they did not comply by a specific date, they would simply go to the ISP that was hosting the server and seize it. It came to our attention that our service provider (Speakeasy, who was graciously donating the service) had already been visited and had been served. They were under a similar gag order and were not allowed to speak with us about the details. Clearly this was an attempt to harassment and scrutinze them in a blatant attempt to disrupt our relationship, the more legal heat they received, the less they are going to be interested in continuing to provide us with a free service.
+
 Eventually the legal proceedings succeeded and the IMC was not required to turn over this information. The common speculation was that this was not just a fishing expedition, but the authorities actually had apprehended people involved in liberating the attache and were just wanting evidence for prosecution, other possibilities included the people who had liberated the documents were actually agent provocateurs and this was just an attempt to shake up the IMC and the counter-globalization movement that had just exploded in everyone's face.