New Mexico authorities ask for tech company’s user practices

The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office says it has sent a letter to a data sharing company, asking for information on user practices as prosecutors investigate how technology is used to distribute child pornography.

In a statement Tuesday, Attorney General Hector Balderas says his office sent a letter to BitTorrent Inc. last week.

BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer protocol that allows users to share files, and is used legitimately by academics and artists.

But it also has been known to be used by child pornographers and other criminals because large amounts of digital content can be moved and sorted.

New Mexico authorities say they are seeking information from BitTorrent by June 8.

A spokesman for BitTorrent says the company is reviewing the letter, and says it cooperates with “law enforcement agencies to the full extent of the law.”

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