Website Seized

March 2, 2001

Just when you thought that it was safe to post anything to the Web, Uncle Sam goes in and seizes the website. At least that was the case for two alleged criminals who arrested for selling counterfeit software through their website. Typically the federal government seizes the more tangible items but in this situation they wanted to be sure that the allegedly illegal business was shut down. This is the first instance where the federal government has used its seizure powers to dismantle a website itself.

The Attorney General has not formally announced what will be done with the captured website; however, there has been some talk about using it to combat the war on software piracy.

It will be interesting to monitor this situation as the courts determine whether or not the seizure of a website will be permitted under the law.