Judge Who Authorized Police Search of Seattle Privacy Activists Wasn’t Told They Operate Tor Network – Slog – The Stranger

Source: Judge Who Authorized Police Search of Seattle Privacy Activists Wasn’t Told They Operate Tor Network – Slog – The Stranger

One week after Seattle police searched the home of two well-known privacy activists for child porn and found nothing, critics are questioning why the department failed to include a key piece of information in its application for a warrant—the fact that the activists operated a Tor node out of their apartment, in order to help internet users all over the world surf the web anonymously.

It’s like raiding the mailman’s house for delivering an illegal letter with no return address. Sure, it could have been sent by the mailman, but it could have been sent by anyone.

“When we get into things like this,” he said, “anonymizing stuff, that’s well over my head technologically, then it becomes very murky and hazy.” — Judge William Downing