Federal judge hints at denying Sam Bankman-Fried any internet access as condition of bail: Report

The judge reportedly did not expand SBF’s bail conditions to include restrictions on the internet or VPNs, but asked his lawyers to pay for a consultant to explore the matter.


Judge Lewis Kaplan reportedly targeted Sam Bankman-Fried’s internet usage during a hearing reviewing the former FTX CEO’s use of a virtual private network, or VPN.
According to a Feb. 16 tweet from NPR correspondent David Gura, Judge Kaplan seemed to suggest that Bankman-Fried be denied access to any electronic device and the internet as a condition of his bail. Though SBF’s lawyers reportedly said there was no television in Joe Bankman’s and Barbara Fried’s California home — where the former FTX CEO has largely been confined since his arraignment in the United States in December — the judge countered that a “garden of electronic devices” was available with access to the internet.
Bankman-Fried appeared in court for the first time in days to address the legal implications of him using a VPN on Jan. 29 and Feb. 12. SBF’s lawyers claimed he had been watching football on the days in question, but prosecutors said using a VPN raised “several potential concerns.”