

Aaron Swartz's FBI File Released - rabble
http://news.firedoglake.com/2013/02/19/aaron-swartzs-fbi-file/

======
apaprocki
Just a note about redaction -- my personal experience with FBI redaction is
that it is completely subjective based upon the person who happens to be doing
the redaction. There isn't some giant conspiracy to omit facts -- sometimes
the person redacts too much, other times they screw up, etc. I've had names
redacted on one page, only to appear non-redacted a few pages later. Even in
cases where I've sent in death certificates for certain names (I know for a
fact who the redacted person is), the name is still redacted in the output.
I'm sure it is a very laborious, human process and all such processes involve
a lot of errors.

~~~
obviouslygreen
Having had a great deal of personal experience with the FBI and the channels
and management they're required to use and satisfy, I can verify that it's
entirely accurate that everything is down to the individual. It's exactly the
same kind of bureaucracy people complain about in large companies, except that
the very bare possibility of change we hold on to in large corporate
environments is not present.

Working with that organization in particular will teach you very quickly about
the kind of immense roadblocks that exist to even the more "moderate" of
conspiracy theories. Not only are they beholden to absolutely everyone, they
don't have time to make things up or bury facts. Obviously there are
exceptions, but this and most other government agencies are just loose
conglomerations of individuals doing a never-ending amount of thankless work
with the reward of being scrutinized and accused of every possible crime at
every possible turn.

I hold government and its agencies in no high regard, because people are
people and we all suck in our own way, but suggesting conspiracy at certain
levels is just laughable.

~~~
PavlovsCat
"Having had a great deal of personal experience with the FBI [..] suggesting
conspiracy at certain levels is just laughable"

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO>

Read that. Unless you can pinpoint how everything changed radically since
then, I say heh.

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nikcub
Amazon handed over his account details with very little prodding. No mention
of a warrant. Making connections from AWS is probably more incriminating than
making them from your home internet connection (your home connection has
certain protection)

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kanzure
While we're talking about it... I sent in a FOIA request recently, and it came
back a few days ago as 404 File Not Found. I previously sent in requests in
2009 and 2010 and never received replies. From talking with others, they claim
that these requests should be on a record and that my 2013 request should have
returned evidence of my 2009 and 2010 requests. Does anyone have a scoop on
this?

~~~
TheCowboy
Can you post these responses online? Especially the 404 one. Just curious.

~~~
kanzure
I am traveling at the moment, but I could type them up when I get back. Shoot
me an email reminder.

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armored_mammal
It seems odd that his whole file would be an entire 23 pages in its entirety,
and amount to 21 releasable pages without a single page relating in any way to
anything other than publicizing the PACER records.

Surely they have more...

~~~
apaprocki
The FBI is part of the DoJ but I'm not sure if it is a fact that the FBI was
involved with what went down recently. The DoJ has a separate FOIA process, so
I am assuming that an FOIA can be made to them for all files related to their
prosecution. I'd be shocked if some person or organization has not already
started this process..

edit: DoJ FOIA <http://www.justice.gov/oip/foia-request.html>

------
danso
FYI, Aaron himself posted his FBI file back in 2009:

<http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/fbifile>

Has anything else been added since?

~~~
rabble
Looks like there are a few more pages, but most of it seems to overlap with
what Aaron already posted.

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bsims
Anyone else find it weird they included his social security number (page 5)?
With the amount of detail they included it seems as though it would be fairly
easy for someone to use any FBI file on a deceased person for fraudulent
purposes, ID theft, or accessing accounts at companies who may not realize he
is deceased yet.

~~~
harshreality
Your social security number becomes public record once you die.

The situation with the Social Security Death Master File (SSDMF) / Social
Security Death Index (SSDI) is very similar to the situation with PACER.

List from Nov 2011, obtained legally by <http://ssdmf.info/>

[https://thepiratebay.se/torrent/7193029/Social_Security_Deat...](https://thepiratebay.se/torrent/7193029/Social_Security_Death_Master_File_20120321)

The SSA would love to insist that redistribution is illegal, because the price
of the SSDMF is outrageous and a cash cow, but they don't have a legal leg to
stand on. The SSDI is public record, and because it's a database with no
creative element, it's not copyrightable even if it were compiled by someone
other than the government.

Official sources for the SSDMF:

<https://www.ssdmf.com/>

<http://www.ntis.gov/products/ssa-dmf.aspx>

~~~
unimpressive
It would be really meta if Aaron had snarfed this one.

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taylorbuley
It makes me sad the NYT story brought on extra heat. As a journalist, it
stinks when collateral damage like such happens in the name of "truth" or some
other subjective good. Good reminder to be careful what you say to the press.

------
DSWright
Many of the pages were the same with different redactions, but the FBI
withheld 2 claiming privacy, sources and methods, and the danger that physical
harm would come to someone if they released them.

\- Dan Wright, FireDogLake.com

~~~
jrockway
Minor note: we don't do signatures at the end of comments on HN.

<http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html>

"Please don't sign comments, especially with your url. They're already signed
with your username. If other users want to learn more about you, they can
click on it to see your profile."

~~~
DSWright
Sorry about that. First comment.

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unimpressive
Any non-scribd mirrors?

~~~
sachleen
Just click the download button below the document. Here's a mirror if you
can't access scribid for whatever reason:
<http://www.filedropper.com/126146785-aaron-h-swartz-fbi-file>

~~~
jmount
The requires logging in, not exactly "pro privacy."

~~~
tommica
What about this: [https://dl.dropbox.com/u/14707221/random/126146785-Aaron-
H-S...](https://dl.dropbox.com/u/14707221/random/126146785-Aaron-H-Swartz-FBI-
File.pdf)

------
bsims
How much do you want to bet that someone manually goes through to scrub the
personal information on every page...any other reasons the white out boxes
would be so inconsistent?

~~~
doktrin
This is correct. Redactions are typically handled manually. In the legal
industry, for instance, this task is typically assigned to contract attorneys
or paralegal staff.

There are of course auto-redacting solutions available, but due to the nature
of the documents (scanned, inconsistent formats), and the potential
consequences of either mis-applying a redaction or omitting one, manual
verification is required.

~~~
rayiner
> In the legal industry, for instance, this task is typically assigned to
> contract attorneys or paralegal staff.

Or junior associates :(

~~~
wglb
Hmmm--do I detect a bit of personal knowledge of this activity?

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yankoff
I don't understand. Was this file officially released?

~~~
wmf
Yes. Under the Freedom of Information Act, anyone can request US government
documents (such as FBI files) and the relevant agency will send you the
unclassified parts.

~~~
yankoff
For any case or only for cases that were closed? And they don't even remove
SSN, addresses and phone numbers?

~~~
reaganing
You can request a file on any deceased person, and they'll give it to you in
most cases.

Social security numbers of the deceased are also public information. Helps to
prevent identity theft issues.

------
benburleson
Why are documents from legal proceedings worth millions of dollars? Aren't
they public domain?

~~~
DoggettCK
From the file:

"PACER normally carries an eight cents per page fee, however, by accessing
from one of the seventeen libraries, users may search and download data for
free."

And:

"The two accounts were responsible for downloading more than eighteen million
pages with an approximate value of $1.5 million."

~18MM pages at $0.08/page ~= $1.5 million

So downloading a document is stealing printing fees from the courts,
apparently.

My personal favorite part of the file so far:

"The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reported that the PACER system
was being inundated with requests. One request was being made every three
seconds."

I actually applied for a programming job with the Federal Courts in San
Antonio about a decade ago when I was desperate for work. Cattle-call
interview with ~100 easy questions, then they'd call you back that afternoon
for a panel interview if you did well. I was criticized for dressing "too
casual", despite wearing $400 worth of new clothes I couldn't afford.
Apparently, suits are needed for programming, which also involves crawling
around courtrooms installing equipment. Got the job offer a few days later for
$55K/year. I mentioned that the newspaper ad said the position paid $78K, and
politely attempted to negotiate. Five minutes later, I got an email saying
they were rescinding the offer. Classy folks.

~~~
sounds
I hope you're happily employed now!

Posting your experience with the Federal Courts is helpful, thanks.

~~~
DoggettCK
Thanks! Very happily employed now at a former startup that I also interviewed
with back then. Decided not to go with them at the time because their 5-year
plan was to sell the company within a year and move on to something else. They
got bought out, I found another job, and when I got sick of that, got an
interview here through a friend, and wished I'd started 6 years sooner.

Somewhat back on topic, since my current company was built on RSS initially, I
doubt I'd even have this job without Aaron Swartz.

