FBI Faces the Challenges of Investigating YouTube Videos

Understanding the Child Ecstasy Video Investigation

YouTube.com has become a new site of investigation for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), especially for cases like the recent video played on YouTube.com of a 2-year old child allegedly taking ecstasy that involve potential child abuse.

YouTube.com, a collection of user-uploaded videos, has been the site of several FBI investigations. FBI agents have been charged with looking into exploitive videos to determine whether criminal activity has actually been committed.  In some cases dealing with piracy, the YouTube.com video itself is the crime.

CHILD ON ECSTASY: REAL or RE-ENACTMENT

During the week July 7-14, 2007, the FBI has helped Houston, Texas authorities investigate whether adults gave a 2-year old girl the drug ecstasy and taped her reaction. The Victoria Advocate reported that authorities have not been able to determine whether the girl was drugged or not, and that the adults present in the video (believed to have been taken in late June) told authorities that they encouraged the girl to reenact a scene from the movie, The Grudge.

The case highlights both the potential and pitfalls that the FBI and local authorities face when investigating online videos. Resolution of the case will come after further tests are done on the child to figure out whether she was given any illegal substances or not. The YouTube.com video of a child taking ecstasy attracted police attention, but the officers and FBI have to use other means like sophisticated drug tests to prove that abuse occurred.

FBI INVESTIGATIONS RESULTING FROM ACTIONS DEPICTED ON YouTube.com VIDEOS

Prior to the Houston incident, the best example of the FBI involvement with YouTube.com video is its decision to investigate the Los Angeles Police Department in light of a video depicting officers beating a suspect. In the fall of 2007, YouTube.com footage of the brutal arrest of William Cardenas by the Los Angeles police initiated a brutality investigation by the FBI. The incident gained wide coverage in the mainstream media including at MSNBC (where the clip can still be viewed today).