Epstein files: Victims' names still not protected

Despite promises from U.S. officials to remove identifying information of victims from documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, sensitive data remains accessible online, an investigation by DW has revealed. Victims continue to experience fear and distress due to the public disclosure of their personal details.

One victim told U.S. lawmakers in May, "I can't live without constantly looking over my shoulder," describing her feelings after her personal data was publicly revealed in January when the Department of Justice (DOJ) released hundreds of thousands of documents linked to Epstein. "I can only imagine what long-term impact this mistake will have on my life," she said.

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I can't live without constantly looking over my shoulder.

Three days after the DOJ released the largest batch of Epstein files on January 30, a Justice Department lawyer informed a federal court that data allowing the identification of individuals sexually abused by Epstein and his associates had been published due to "human or technical error." Consequently, the DOJ announced it would remove, review, and re-edit the disputed documents before re-releasing them.

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I can only imagine what long-term impact this mistake will have on my life.

However, DW's investigative team, along with its innovation and data processing teams, has spent months analyzing thousands of documents released by the DOJ. Over six months since their publication, DW identified dozens of files still containing data, including names, photos, and email addresses, that could identify surviving victims, witnesses, informants, and other individuals. DW obtained over 800,000 files from the DOJ's so-called Epstein library by mid-February. The archive was dynamic, with new documents added, others removed, and modified files reappearing after days of absence.

DW's analysis of earlier versions of documents archived on GitHub revealed that over 500,000 files were removed between the initial release and when DW downloaded the data. By generating unique digital fingerprints (hashes) for each document, DW confirmed which files remained unchanged and which were removed from the website. DW also found that some files were altered, indicated by changes in their digital fingerprints and file sizes. A review of these documents showed some were further redacted, while others had content added. In one instance, a woman detailing her experiences as a victim of Epstein's abuse since childhood had her name obscured for almost the entire transcript.

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human or technical error