FC: Feds raid drug paraphernalia sites, to be redirected to DEA.gov

declanat_private

[As I noted in my article, the DEA.gov privacy policy allows information 
like IP addressses collected from visitors to be used in criminal 
investigations and prosecutions. --Declan]

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http://news.com.com/2100-1023-985785.html

    Feds weed out drug paraphernalia sites
    By Declan McCullagh
    February 24, 2003, 4:32 PM PT

    The U.S. Justice Department on Monday said it indicted 11 Web site
    operators for allegedly selling illegal devices including bongs and
    holders for marijuana cigarettes.

    Attorney General John Ashcroft told reporters that the government
    would ask a U.S. district court in Pittsburgh to point the sites to a
    Web page at the Drug Enforcement Administration explaining why they
    were taken offline, a new twist in crime-fighting.

    [...]

---

Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 08:11:56 -0600
Subject: FW:  ALERT: DEA to Redirect Seized Websites!!
From: Jules Siegel <siegelat_private>
To: <declanat_private>

-----Original Message-----
From: Ron Bennett [mailto:discussat_private]
Sent: Monday, February 24, 2003 9:08 PM
To: DPFT-Lat_private
Subject: ALERT: DEA to Redirect Seized Websites!!

State and federal authorities recently conducted raids of various
companies/individuals that sell "drug paraphernalia", such as pipes and
related materials. Pipes, etc were seized along with their websites.

According to a Voice of America article, Mr. Ashcroft says they plan to
redirect the seized websites to to the DEA website.

A frightening quote from the a Voice of America article:
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=FAAF0B60-2B80-4100-BD255885C43351A6

"Mr. Ashcroft says customers who want to visit some of their favorite drug
paraphernalia websites are in for a big surprise in the days ahead. They
will be automatically redirected to the website for the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration."

In essence the DEA is going to usurp the freedom of speech and expression of
the people who run those seized websites. This would be akin to the U.S.
Dept of Justice redirecting the "aclu.org" website to the "usdoj.gov"
website.

And then there are the serious privacy issues involved if the DEA redirects
the seized websites, since they'll be logging all visitors, obtaining their
IP address and other highly personal information.

I encourage everyone here who values the freedom of speech and expression to
contact their local ACLU chapter (list can be found at http://www.aclu.org/
and/or other organizations that works with such issues.

Bottom line is this is a serious issue and if the DEA is able to do this,
they could potentially redirect *ANY* website - remember that the owners of
the websites seized have *NOT* been convicted of any crime.

Ron Bennett

--
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