FBI: Surfers 'Rick Rolled' to Child Porn Are Pedophiles
Clicking links to anything related to child porn is same as intent to download, agency says.
By: Justin Bourne
Posted: 03/24/2008
WASHINGTON - Internet users who click on links pointing to
anything remotely related to child porn - even if it's not real -can end up on
the FBI's list of pedophiles.
Those who click on such links - sent in acts of what is known
as "Rick Rolling," pranks or attempts to drive traffic - may unknowingly
provide the FBI enough evidence to raid their homes and jail them. According to
the FBI, clicking those links is the same as having intent to download child
porn, ARS Technica reported.
By using logged IP addresses to obtain warrants, authorities
can arrest and charge people with the federal crime of intent to download child
porn, ARS Technica reported, adding that the FBI has deposited links to phony
files on message boards known for having child-predator traffic.
Since log files within these link traps do not take into
account the possibility that the links could have been forwarded, ARS Technica
noted, any IP address logged is assumed to have originated from one of the
FBI's links and is therefore considered guilty.
Temple
University doctoral
student Roderick Vosburgh allegedly clicked on a planted hyperlink pointing to
a file located on an FBI server. The file contained no porn, but it logged
Vosburgh's IP address when he tried to access it. The FBI later arrested him
and searched his home.
According to court documents, the FBI said there was no evidence that
Vosburgh had ever accessed the forum where the links were originally planted, but
authorities caught Vosburgh trying to destroy a hard drive and a flash drive.
Vosburgh's attorney said the affidavit used to charge Vosburgh contained no
probable cause indicating that criminal activity had occurred. He also said there
was no proof that Vosburgh was at home when the file allegedly was accessed, or
that there was a computer with an Internet connection in Vosburgh's apartment.
Vosburgh was convicted of clicking on an illegal link and possession of
child porn because of two thumbnail images of reportedly underage girls.
The conviction came despite computer experts' testimony that the cache was automatically
created and that Vosburgh could not have known that the thumbnails had been
placed on his computer.
Vosburgh is scheduled for sentencing on April 22.
