The FBI is conducting a sweeping national investigation into child porn on what is known as the dark Web, a universe of sites that are off Google's radar where users can operate with anonymity, reports the Washington Post. As criminals become more savvy about using technology such as Tor to hide their tracks, investigators are turning to hacking tools to thwart them. In some cases, law enforcement agencies are placing malware on sites that might have thousands of users. Some privacy advocates and analysts worry that in doing so, investigators may also wind up hacking and identifying the computers of law-abiding people who are seeking to remain anonymous, people who can also include political dissidents and journalists.
“As the hacking techniques become more ambitious, failure in execution can lead to large-scale privacy and civil liberties abuses at home and abroad,” said Ahmed Ghappour, a professor at the University of California's Hastings College of the Law. “It's imperative that Congress step in to regulate exactly who and how law enforcement may hack.” Justice Department officials said that the government investigates crimes based on evidence of illegal activities. “When we obtain a warrant, it's because we have convinced a judge that there is probable cause that we'll be able to find evidence in a particular location,” said a senior department official. In a case known as Playpen, the government activated malware on a site with 215,000 members, as of last February, and obtained Internet protocol addresses of 1,300 computers. Out of that group, the government said it has charged 137 people. “It's a lot of people,” said Colin Fieman, a public defender in Tacoma, Wa., who is representing one defendant There never has been any warrant I've seen that allows searches on that scale. It is unprecedented.”