FBI Backs Off The Internet Archive

[HardOCP News]

The FBI served the folks at the Internet Archive (The Wayback Machine) with a national security letter demanding information relevant to an ongoing national security investigation. The Internet Archive refused and got the EFF and the ACLU to defend them. Now it looks like the FBI has backed off after reaching a deal where the Internet Archive voluntarily handed over some of the info the FBI wanted, saying it was publicly available anyway. Thanks to Lethal for the link.

As part of their settlement, the FBI agreed to drop the gag order and the archive agreed to withdraw the complaint. The case was unsealed Monday. Yesterday, redacted versions of key documents were filed, allowing the parties to discuss the case.

 

[acme420]

the information was publically available the whole time eh?

so either the fbi is incompetent. or they just wanted a bunch of archives illegally for whatever purposes.

im gonna go with B.

 

[Lethal]

the information was publically available the whole time eh?

No, the Internet Archive only turned over info that was publicly available and held off on what wasn't. Interesting to note that the reason IA won on this one was because they are classified as a "library" and afforded certain protections that others can't claim.

 

[acme420]

well if they backed off with only the publicly available information in a "matter of national security". it leads me to think this info they were after wasnt as important as they made it out to be or they just didnt want to make a scene about it for whatever reasons.

 

[Fooshnik]

Interesting to note that the reason IA won on this one was because they are classified as a "library" and afforded certain protections that others can't claim.

It was settled, they didn't really win, but that provision meant they likely would've won. Flowers By Irene essentially gave up and went off to wipe their ass with the constitution next to someone else.

 

[Ockie]

What secret documents would the way-back machine contain that isn't publicly accessible? If they have any, why keep them? I was under the impression that the way-back machine was public and not harboring secretive documents?

 

[vengence]

What secret documents would the way-back machine contain that isn't publicly accessible? If they have any, why keep them? I was under the impression that the way-back machine was public and not harboring secretive documents?

If only you have seen what I have seen.


*rolfmao*

 

[gcomm]

The Wayback Machine/archive.org's system takes time... months.. sometimes longer to process sites they archive. The proces is their automated cataloging, and until their automated systems parse the crap they bring in, it would take tremendous time and effort to identify and extract anything specific they're asked to look for. In addition, there's alot of crap they archive, that doesn't meet the parameters of their filters, and never really gets catalogged properly. It's just a huge mass of difficult to search data, due to the sheer volume, That's why it takes months for "recent' versions of sites to be updated on their website.

So if the feebies stated they wanted "all" information related to something, and some of it still wasn't catalogged, the effort to retrieve it would be monumental, maybe impossible, to provide in any reasonable time frame.

That's likely why they gave up and took what they could. The rest just wasn't reasonably available.