In a further sign that U.S. intelligence communities are falling behind in their understanding and integration of the Internet with their investigations, CNN reported on August 3rd on the FBI vs Wikipedia story buzzing the Internet over the past few months.
According to the report, Wikipedia received a letter from the FBI requesting that they remove the FBI insignia from the website. The FBI letter reads, in part:
The FBI has not authorized use of the FBI seal on Wikipedia. The inclusion of a high quality graphic of the FBI seal on Wikipedia is particularly problematic, because it facilitates both deliberate and unwitting copying and reprinting of the seal’s image.
The letter cited a section of U.S. code that makes it illegal to copy badges and identification cards…”in the likeness of any such badge, identification card, or other insignia”.
FBI Vs Wikipedia Proves the FBI is Technologically Challenged
Wikipedia essentially responded by telling the feds to pound sand and that they’d be more than willing to defend themselves in court. Most experts agree that the FBI doesn’t even have a case. The move by the FBI against one of the many thousands of sites that already use the insignia on their website, makes it obvious that the Agency is either specifically targeting Wikipedia for some unknown reason (probably due to the recent flak over WikiLeaks, an entirely different Wiki website) – or the Bureau is completely inept in regards to understanding Internet and copyright law, and is totally disconnected with the Internet community and the current culture of the web.
Here is a view of Google Images – showing just how many websites already display the insignia, in addition to Wikipedia.
In fact – due to the tremendous press that this story has received, some sites are now intentionally posting the FBI insignia on their websites as a way to take a collective stand against the attempted censorship by the Federal Bureau of investigation. In effect, the FBI vs Wikipedia case is rapidly backfiring against the feds. It is a perfect example of how disconnected the bureau is from the Internet community.
Why U.S. Intelligence Should Plug-In to the Internet
I’ve written this since the first time I’ve personally worked on busting scams utilizing Internet technologies. There is a misconception, left over from the era of the 1990s, that the Internet is only for fun and games. That no one can have a real “job” on the Internet. That people who use the Internet for research are just “Google” hounds.
The truth is that agencies, organizations and individuals across the world are now connected to the Internet and willingly publishing volumes of valuable intelligence for absolutely free. You can now find images, background information and more for almost any individual in the world, unless they’ve somehow avoided any entity that utilizes the Internet.
As a form of Intelligence collecting, the Internet is now supersedes now outdated forms of intelligence collecting that “old-school” federal officers are used to conducting. Before a fed can pick up the phone, an Internet researcher can obtain the home address, phone number, listing of relatives and a full criminal rap sheet of almost an suspected criminal in the U.S. Before an agent can get a warrant and bug an apartment or a house with video and audio surveillance, an Internet agent can tap into a local web cam, or convince a family member to install special mobile phone software to monitor a suspect’s location.
The world is changing, technologies are advancing at breakneck speed, and this latest example of the FBI vs Wikipedia is a clear sign that the Federal Bureau of Investigation just doesn’t “get it.”
As a nod to Wikipedia, I too am publishing the FBI insignia on my main page – you’ll find it at the upper-left, right next to the CIA insignia.
“Freedom is that instant between when someone tells you to do something and when you decide how to respond.” ~Jeffrey Borenstein
Ryan Dube is editor-in-chief of TSW and an electrical engineer in the automation industry. He spends his time investigating declassified government documents, legends and conspiracy theories. Ryan has 296 post(s) at Top Secret Writers
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