Commentary

FBI's Confounding Clash With Wikipedia

For reasons that remain a mystery, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has decided to pick a fight with online encyclopedia Wikipedia.

Last week, the FBI sent Wikipedia a letter complaining about the display of the FBI logo on Wikipedia. The feds assert that the presence of a high-resolution copy of its logo on the site violates a law banning unauthorized reproductions of government insignia. The government adds that the logo's presence on Wikipedia is "particularly problematic" because the image could facilitate the illegal manufacture of fake badges, id cards or other insignia.

Wikipedia's counsel, Mike Godwin, fired back a letter declining to remove the logo. He says that the law might prohibit reproducing the FBI's logo in order to create a fake ID, but doesn't ban its use in an online article. "Badges and identification cards are physical manifestations that may be used by a possessor to invoke the authority of the federal government. An encyclopedia article is not," he wrote. "The use of the image on Wikipedia is not for the purpose of deception or falsely to represent anyone as an agent of the federal government."

While there's probably room to argue about the law's wording, it's hard to imagine that a judge would take the FBI's complaints all that seriously given that the logo's design is hardly a secret.

Meantime, since yesterday morning, versions of the seal have popped up on sites like the San Francisco Chronicle's SFGate.com and Techdirt.

3 comments about "FBI's Confounding Clash With Wikipedia".
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  1. Stanley Trissell from DaytonDMA.com, August 4, 2010 at 6:43 p.m.

    Interesting. I suppose you could always copy the seal from the FBI's own website, although it is only about a 100 pixel .jpg as opposed to the 150 pixel .svg on Wickipedia. Beg's the question, where did Wickipedia get its version of the seal?

  2. Lawrie platt Hall from Platt Hal & Associates, August 4, 2010 at 8:27 p.m.

    I see no compelling First Amendment argument for Wikipedia to publish a high resolution image of the FBI logo and many public safety reasons why not. The courts made it illegal to shout "Fire" in a theater. Public safety in the time of sophisticated criminal and terrorist tactics deserves greater consideration than Wikipedia is demonstrating.

  3. Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, August 4, 2010 at 10 p.m.

    This is going to be a very sorry generation that thinks they can have everything they want when they want it how they want it all for free. There will be heavy prices we will pay for the Wikipedia's and others who thinks they are above the law, above ethics and above answering to anyone or anything.

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