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Re: more letters from the feds
Hi Eugen,
On 1/8/07, Eugen Leitl <eugen@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Mon, Jan 08, 2007 at 12:18:10PM +0100, Eugen Leitl wrote:
> Is this isn't an active discouragement campaign, it certainly
> feels that way.
Not necessarily; if the BKA gets aware of a crime, they *must*
investigate (see also § 258a, "Strafvereitelung im Amt"). And thats ok
how it is, if we're a real constitutional state it's supposed to work
that way, they just can't look away. TOR or not TOR.
On the other hand I share your feeling; somehow I have the impression
that they're using the letters to spread fear - and not everyone can
afford to hire a lawyer, as I did. That's actually the real problem,
that they're forcing people to act and maybe spend money.
And it also should be pointed out omce again that it would be a rather
stupid idea to run a TOR exit-node at home, for a dynamic IP-address
is blinking wildly on their radar. The possible consequences are left
up to your imagination.
To followup on myself, just got hold of the criminal investigator on the phone.
She has heard about Tor, and accepted the verbal explanation I've
given her. She asked me to submit this in writing (also via fax).
It's probably the same lady from Wiesbaden we had to deal with as
well. After you've given your statement you'll probably get a fax
stating that they need no further information from you.
(The reason I suspect the server might have been seized is due to
a my prior testimony at the local police station, which involved
a case of petty (less than 200 EUR damage) online fraud. There
was no content on the server, whether hidden or otherwise. Prior
to that it contained a mirror of a Linux distribution's .iso images.
Hm, so this doesn't seem to be related. There's light! :)
German Tor operators: has any of this resulted in a criminal persecution
of individual operators so far? If yes, please contact me, if necessary,
offlist.
Not that I'm aware of. Just monetary damage so far, which is quite
enough for my taste...
TIA,
Alex.
--
"I am tired of all this sort of thing called science here... We have spent
millions in that sort of thing for the last few years, and it is time it
should be stopped."
-- Simon Cameron, U.S. Senator, on the Smithsonian Institute, 1901.