Matthew White admits he was surfing the internet looking for pornography two years ago, which is not a crime for a then-20-year-old American man. However, CBS reports that White downloaded child pornography onto his computer; he says he accidentally did it while looking for college-age women on LimeWire. LimeWire is a peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing network that allows users to share files, including music, movies, games, and pictures, with each other.
White claims that when he discovered the files he had accidentally downloaded, he promptly deleted them, saying that child pornography did not appeal to him. About a year later, FBI agents were able to recover the deleted images from his hard drive when his family allowed agents to examine his computer.
Peer-to-peer exchange networks
According to Wired.com, tens of millions of people use P2P sharing networks and LimeWire alone has 50 million monthly users. The LimeWire program grants access to the Gnutella file-sharing network, which is the actual P2P network. It is understood by many users, and because there is no central server for the files, LimeWire does not review or control the material on the Gnutella network. While LimeWire attempts to filter certain illegal or objectionable content through user requests, users are responsible for content they post or download from the network.
P2P networks have been used for a long time to allow access to images or music, whether or not they are protected by copyright. The Federal Trade Commission warns that file sharing can result in others being unknowingly allowed to copy private files or accidentally download viruses or unintentionally download pornography. LimeWire allows users to activate a family filter or set filters based on keywords, file type, or IP address. He says of Family Filter that any such feature is “imperfect at best” and that not all content will include the necessary details or information to enable filtering.
The default setting on the Gnutella file sharing network is that documents downloaded from the network will continue to be shared on the network. Users must disable this default so that files downloaded outside the network remain private.
The US General Accounting Office was asked to determine the ease of access to child pornography on P2P networks and the risk of inadvertent exposure to pornography, including child pornography, by juvenile P2P users. It found that child pornography is easily found and downloaded from P2P networks. Using 12 keywords known to be associated with child pornography in a search, the GAO identified 1,286 titles and file names; 543, or approximately 42 percent, were associated with child pornography images. In another search using three keywords, a Customs analyst downloaded 341 images, of which 149, about 44 percent, contained child pornography.
The study found a significant risk of inadvertent exposure of underage users to pornography, including child pornography. Even innocent keywords likely to be used by minors, such as cartoon characters or celebrity names, retrieved images that included child erotica (7 percent) and child pornography (1 percent).
Privacy Protections and Constitutionality Concerns
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that a court order is not required for authorities to view and download files traded on P2P networks. The court said that the defendant was clearly aware that LimeWire is a file-sharing program that allows the general public to access files in its shared folder unless you take steps to prevent it. Because a warrant is only required if a search violates a reasonable expectation of privacy, the court found that no warrant was required.
Wired.com says an FBI agent logged on to LimeWire and ran a search on the keyword “Lolitaguy,” which the court found known to be associated with child pornography. Using a proprietary software program that identifies and flags known child pornography images, the officer used one of LimeWire’s features to download seven of the 240 files shared on the defendant’s IP address, four of which turned out to be child pornography. .
Defendant Charles Borowy claimed the agents violated his Fourth Amendment rights, saying he had a reasonable expectation of privacy because he thought he had disabled the sharing feature. However, he pleaded guilty to child pornography charges and was sentenced to 45 months in prison. The deal allowed him to appeal whether the search and seizure of his computer files was illegal.
A conviction for possession of child pornography can carry up to 20 years in prison. On the advice of his public defender, White pleads guilty in hopes of a three-and-a-half-year sentence. In addition, she would serve 10 years of probation and be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life.
The FBI could not comment on White’s case, but reportedly said that users who accidentally download child pornography should call authorities immediately. CBS says Internet searches reveal a large number of complaints from people who claim they have accidentally downloaded child pornography via LimeWire.
Anyone who believes that they have mistakenly or accidentally downloaded illegal material should contact a lawyer immediately for advice on their rights, obligations and how to proceed.