Plot hole: The FBI in the movie has the ability to "blackhole" an IP address, which makes that computer unavailable to the internet. If they can blackhole the computer acting as the web server, they could also blackhole the computer acting as the name server (DNS), thereby taking down the web site and preventing additional users from connecting.
Untraceable (2008)
1 plot hole - chronological order
Directed by: Gregory Hoblit
Starring: Diane Lane, Colin Hanks, Billy Burke, Joseph Cross
Plot hole: The FBI in the movie has the ability to "blackhole" an IP address, which makes that computer unavailable to the internet. If they can blackhole the computer acting as the web server, they could also blackhole the computer acting as the name server (DNS), thereby taking down the web site and preventing additional users from connecting.
Agent Jennifer Marsh: Username and password please?
Agent Griffin Dowd: Coming to you... now. Chang's restaurant?
Agent Jennifer Marsh: He hacked into their site?
Agent Griffin Dowd: No. Half the office eats there. He's messing with us. He wanted us to find this. Who the hell is this guy?
Question: It's been a while since I've seen this movie, but I remember a scene in which the FBI gives a press conference urging users not to log on to the website, as they then become accessories to the murders. If that's the case, why not say that anyone who accesses the site to watch someone be killed will be charged as an accessory to murder since they can presumably identify the IP addresses of those who watch? It definitely would be a lot of people that would be charged and would cause its own separate and long investigation, but it could have deterred a lot of people from watching.
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Answer: Most people who log onto a website know they can be traced through their IP address. Also, this is a movie, and plot details often are not logical or realistic.
raywest ★
For sure. But I guess to expand upon my question, is there any reason in particular in the real world why the FBI wouldn't threaten to charge people as accessories to murder? As in, are there any legal loopholes that would prohibit the FBI or any law enforcement agency in the U.S. from charging people if the extent of their involvement is driving up views which hasten the victims' deaths? I wanted to submit this as a mistake, but I didn't know if there were extenuating circumstances.
Phaneron ★