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Playpen: Difference between revisions
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Alongside Chase, co-defendants Michael Fluckiger and David Browning were each sentenced to 20 years in prison in early 2017 for their roles in operating the website.<ref name="fbi" /> | Alongside Chase, co-defendants Michael Fluckiger and David Browning were each sentenced to 20 years in prison in early 2017 for their roles in operating the website.<ref name="fbi" /> | ||
==Shutdown & Controversy== | |||
The shutdown operation, known as '''Operation Pacifier''', involved the FBI seizing the server hosting Playpen from a web hosting facility in Lenoir, North Carolina, and transferring it to its data center in Newington, Virginia. The FBI subsequently operated the website for an additional 13 days, from February 20 to March 4, 2015.<ref>[https://embed.documentcloud.org/documents/2166606-ferrell-warrant-1/?mode=text&embed=1 FBI affidavit]</ref> During this period, the site's viewership surged by an additional 100,000 users. | |||
After gaining control of the website, the FBI employed a "[[Wikipedia:Network Investigative Technique|Network Investigative Technique]]" (NIT) to infiltrate the web browsers of users visiting the site through a method known as a [[Wikipedia:watering hole attack|watering hole attack]]. This strategy enabled them to uncover the identities of individuals accessing the platform. | |||
The [[Wikipedia:Electronic Frontier Foundation|Electronic Frontier Foundation]] criticized the investigation for its vague warrant and for allowing the FBI to operate the website for nearly two weeks, inadvertently facilitating the continued distribution of child pornography and thereby committing the very crime they sought to stop.<ref name="eff">[https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/09/playpen-story-fbis-unprecedented-and-illegal-hacking-operation EFF: Playpen - The Story of the FBI’s Unprecedented and Illegal Hacking Operation]</ref> | |||
Challenges emerged regarding the FBI's possible misuse of the initial search warrant, which was intended solely for gathering information on individuals in the Eastern District of Virginia but, due to the indiscriminate nature of the NIT malware, ultimately collected data from users in various other locations.<ref name="eff-">[https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/08/illegal-playpen-story-rule-41-and-global-hacking-warrants EFF: The Playpen Story - Rule 41 and Global Hacking Warrants]</ref> Before 2016, this practice was considered illegal.<ref name="engadget">[https://www.engadget.com/2016-12-01-rule-41-fbi-doj-hacking-power-expand-search-seizure.html Engadget: How an obscure rule lets law enforcement search any computer]</ref> On August 28, 2019, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals declared the warrant invalid, but decided that the evidence gathered could still be used because of a principle that allows for exceptions in good faith.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200806062039/http://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/201714915.pdf Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals - No. 17-14915 and No. 18-11852]</ref> | |||
In 2017, the FBI dismissed charges against one defendant after the court requested information about the NIT malware used in the case. The FBI chose to keep the specifics of the NIT malware confidential to safeguard its use in future investigations.<ref name="wired">[https://www.wired.com/2017/03/feds-rather-drop-child-porn-case-give-exploit/ Wired: The Feds Would Rather Drop a Child Porn Case Than Give Up a Tor Exploit]</ref> | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
[[Category:Official Encyclopedia]][[Category:Child Pornography]][[Category:Websites]] | [[Category:Official Encyclopedia]][[Category:Child Pornography]][[Category:Websites]] | ||
Revision as of 01:09, 13 October 2025
Playpen was a child pornography website that operated from August 2014 to March 2015. Accessible via the Tor network, it provided users with a degree of anonymity while engaging with its content. At the time of its shutdown in March 2015, the website reportedly boasted over 215,000 users and harbored approximately 23,000 sexually explicit images and videos of children, including toddlers.[1]
Convictions
On February 19, 2015, just six months into its operation, the FBI arrested Steven W. Chase, the site's administrator. This action followed a tip from foreign law enforcement agents who had reported on his activities back in December 2014. Investigators discovered that the website was hosted on a misconfigured web server, which inadvertently revealed its IP address. The FBI tracked this IP address to a U.S. web hosting company and used its financial records to identify and apprehend Chase.[1] In May 2017, Chase was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in operating the website.[2]
Alongside Chase, co-defendants Michael Fluckiger and David Browning were each sentenced to 20 years in prison in early 2017 for their roles in operating the website.[2]
Shutdown & Controversy
The shutdown operation, known as Operation Pacifier, involved the FBI seizing the server hosting Playpen from a web hosting facility in Lenoir, North Carolina, and transferring it to its data center in Newington, Virginia. The FBI subsequently operated the website for an additional 13 days, from February 20 to March 4, 2015.[3] During this period, the site's viewership surged by an additional 100,000 users.
After gaining control of the website, the FBI employed a "Network Investigative Technique" (NIT) to infiltrate the web browsers of users visiting the site through a method known as a watering hole attack. This strategy enabled them to uncover the identities of individuals accessing the platform.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation criticized the investigation for its vague warrant and for allowing the FBI to operate the website for nearly two weeks, inadvertently facilitating the continued distribution of child pornography and thereby committing the very crime they sought to stop.[4]
Challenges emerged regarding the FBI's possible misuse of the initial search warrant, which was intended solely for gathering information on individuals in the Eastern District of Virginia but, due to the indiscriminate nature of the NIT malware, ultimately collected data from users in various other locations.[5] Before 2016, this practice was considered illegal.[6] On August 28, 2019, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals declared the warrant invalid, but decided that the evidence gathered could still be used because of a principle that allows for exceptions in good faith.[7]
In 2017, the FBI dismissed charges against one defendant after the court requested information about the NIT malware used in the case. The FBI chose to keep the specifics of the NIT malware confidential to safeguard its use in future investigations.[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Softpedia: Admin of Dark Web Child Pornography Website "Playpen" Found Guilty
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 FBI: ‘Playpen’ Creator Sentenced to 30 Years
- ↑ FBI affidavit
- ↑ EFF: Playpen - The Story of the FBI’s Unprecedented and Illegal Hacking Operation
- ↑ EFF: The Playpen Story - Rule 41 and Global Hacking Warrants
- ↑ Engadget: How an obscure rule lets law enforcement search any computer
- ↑ Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals - No. 17-14915 and No. 18-11852
- ↑ Wired: The Feds Would Rather Drop a Child Porn Case Than Give Up a Tor Exploit