The Federal Bureau of Investigation is trying to unmask the operator of Archive.is, also known as Archive.today, a website that saves snapshots of webpages and is commonly used to bypass news paywalls.
The FBI sent a subpoena to domain registrar Tucows, seeking “subscriber information on [the] customer behind archive.today” in connection with “a federal criminal investigation being conducted by the FBI.” The subpoena tells Tucows that “your company is required to furnish this information.”
The subpoena is supposed to be secret, but the Archive.today X account posted the document on October 30, the same day the subpoena was issued. The X post contained a link to the PDF and the word “canary.”
“If you refuse to obey this subpoena, the United States Attorney General may invoke the aid of a United States District Court to compel compliance. Your failure to obey the resulting court order may be punished as contempt,” the document said. It gave a deadline of November 29.
Tucows is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, and also incorporated in Pennsylvania. The company’s subpoena and warrant policy says it provides registrant information in response to civil subpoenas issued by US courts and warrants related to criminal matters.
“Tucows is a staunch advocate for free speech and the freedom of expression on the Internet,” the company said in a statement provided to Ars. “However, when served with valid due process, like any business, Tucows complies.” Tucows added that it is unable to comment or share information on “potential ongoing or active investigations.”
We contacted the FBI and received an auto-reply saying the agency will not respond to most media inquiries during the government shutdown. The subpoena was reported on Wednesday by German news site Heise Online.