FBI steals Instapaper servers

Rob Beschizza 4:41 pm Thu Jun 23, 2011

The FBI, acting on a warrant, seized an internet scam ring's servers—and, apparently, those of everyone else in the datacenter rack. Among the victims of Operation Go Go Gadget Cybercrime Investigation was Instapaper, Marco Arment's splendid and widely-used web bookmarking system.

Due to the police culture in the United States, especially at the federal level, I don't expect to ever get an explanation for this, have the server or its data returned, or be reimbursed for the damage they have illegally caused. I'm really not sure what to do about this. I'm speaking to my lawyer about it shortly, but as far as I know, there's nothing I can reasonably do without spending more money, time, and stress than I can afford on a path that would likely lead nowhere productive.

The FBI stole an Instapaper server in an unrelated raid [Instapaper]

Update: The server's back online, Arment reports.

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