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Is the Outrage Over the FBI's Seattle Times Tactics a Knee-Jerk Reaction?

Posted by samzenpus on from the wait-a-second dept.

reifman writes The Internet's been abuzz the past 48 hours about reports the FBI distributed malware via a fake Seattle Times news website. What the agency actually did is more of an example of smart, precise law enforcement tactics. Is the outrage online an indictment of Twitter's tendency towards uninformed, knee-jerk reactions? In this age of unwarranted, unconstitutional blanket data collection by the NSA, the FBI's tactics from 2007 seem refreshing for their precision.

2 of 206 comments (clear)

  1. Yes, but by nwaack · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yes, it's a knee-jerk reaction. However, our government agencies have done this to themselves. Most of the outrage is probably coming from people who saw "FBI" and "website" in the same sentence and just assumed they did something bad. I can't say I really blame them all that much.

  2. Why not? (Re:No. Just no.) by mi · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Not only is it clearly illegal

    Please, cite the violated law. Thank you.

    it's also a serious breach of trust

    Trust between which parties? The fake was sent to only one person — the suspect, who then became a convict. The suspect knows very well now, that it was a fake — so he continues to trust the actual Seattle Times as much as he did before.

    Also, we all know, that it is perfectly legal for police to lie — except, of course, under oath. So, which trust are you talking about?

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.