[US] - FBI Seizure of Mastodon Server is a Wakeup Call to Fediverse Users and Hosts to Protect their Users

3 years ago by Encryption to c/fightforprivacy

We’re in an exciting time for users who want to take back control from major platforms like Twitter and Facebook. However, this new environment comes with challenges and risks for user privacy, so we need to get it right and make sure networks like the Fediverse and Bluesky are mindful of past...

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_Frog 4 points 3 years ago

Good article. But the police did only seize their mastodon server in a "take it all" approach because of an other issue.

Last May, Mastodon server Kolektiva.social was compromised when one of the server’s admins had their home raided by the FBI for unrelated charges. All of their electronics, including a backup of the instance database, were seized.

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PegasusLady 2 points 3 years ago

But once they have it; "Most users are unaware that, in general, once the government lawfully collects information, under various legal doctrines they can and do use it for investigating and prosecuting crimes that have nothing to do with the original purpose of the seizure. The truth is, once the government has the information, they often use it and the law supports this all too often. Defendants in those prosecutions could challenge the use of this data outside the scope of the original warrant, but that’s often cold comfort." From same story linked above.

I dont know how hard or how much effort it would be to used some or all of their suggestions. Maybe this instance already is?

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_Frog 2 points 3 years ago

I agree, the problematic thing here is: they have it, so they gonna use it, even if it is not related to their case.

Which suggestions are you speaking of?

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PegasusLady 1 point 3 years ago

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