From pop-up ads to Trojan horses, there are already far too many annoyances and threats posed to innocent Internet surfers.
Now, the FBI is joining the ranks of Internet predators.
In 2007, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Seattle branch obtained a warrant to send a suspect a link to a false Associated Press story, which contained software to reveal the suspect’s location.
The suspect in question was a 15-year-old who had been making repeated bomb threats to a high school near Olympia, Washington. The article, which was about the threats, had an Associated Press byline.
The FBI argues that the story was simply written in a style common to online news articles, while The Seattle Times claims the link was imitative of its organization’s style.
The inclusion of the Associated Press though, is not under debate, and is indicative of the very problematic appropriation of the press by the FBI.
In defense of the tactics used, Frank Montoya, Jr., special agent in charge of Seattle’s FBI office, argued that the methods were necessary in order to stop an event similar to recent school shootings at Marysville-Pilchuck High School and Seattle Pacific University, two recent attacks in Washington in which multiple victims were killed.
Montoya should be ashamed of himself for invoking events like these as a defense for his strategies.
The shooting in Marysville happened just last week – its victims were still fighting for their lives as Montoya used them as political fodder.
And Montoya’s argument – essentially that the ends justify the means – falls flat regardless.
In order to attempt to justify the FBI’s actions, Montoya equates a teenager making bomb threats with active school shooters, relying on hyperbole and trying to generate enough fear to distract people from the deeply troubling nature of the FBI’s actions.
Exacerbating the issue is that it remains unclear how often the FBI has used this ploy, and if they plan to stop.
Montoya said that the tactic is used only in “very rare circumstances” – perhaps he thought this would be reassuring, but in reality it’s the opposite.
His statement makes it clear that this strategy is used repeatedly. The issue may just be coming to light now, but the practice of mimicking news organizations in order to nab suspects seems to be far from a one-time occurrence.
Individuals reading the news online have the right to feel confident that they are reading legitimate news sources, that the masthead on the top of the page actually reflects the contributors to the sources, that the byline reflects the article’s true author.
The press and the people can only enjoy a productive and effective relationship if there is an extension of trust – the public has to be able to rely on the press to provide accurate information.
In their pursuit of a suspect, the FBI violated that trust.
The FBI does an important and dangerous job, to be sure. Their responsibilities are crucial and their tasks intense and fortunately, the agency has every resource available to them – the newest technology, the most updated information, the most top-tier and highly screened employees.
But the press belongs to the people, not the government. It cannot become another one of the FBI’s tools.
email: editorial@ubspectrum.com
