Playpen, the NIT, and Rule 41(b): Electronic “Searches” for Those Who Do Not Wish to be Found

In 2015, the FBI executed a massive online sting to catch users of child pornography websites using a special program, the Network Investigative Technique (NIT). One search warrant issued from a magistrate in Virginia allowed the FBI to deploy computer code on suspect computers across the nation. This article examines the differing federal circuit analysis regarding whether the Virginia magistrate had jurisdiction before and after the recent amendment to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and if using the NIT over the internet even counts as a search under the Fourth Amendment