Rep Lofgren: Websites Mistakenly Seized By ICE Should Sue Government

Speaking at a Silicon Valley legal conference, Rep Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) said that the recent website shutdown by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement COICA are way out of line, and an abuse of due process.

In particular, she pointed out a recent episode during which, while pursuing a handful of websites allegedly connected to child pornography, ICE agents accidentally shut down more than 80,000 unrelated websites and tarnished them with child porn-related accusations. The ICE operations are taking down websites without due process, and “apparently without any regard to the First Amendment or fair use,” said Lofgren. Most of the ICE’s recent seizures have been over alleged copyright and trademark violations, not child porn. But the owners of the 80,000 websites that were slandered with the child porn accusation should consider suing the federal government, she added. She is the second politician on Capitol Hill to express concerns about ICE’s behavior, following earlier comments by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR).