Sam Bankman-Fried to use flip phone, and no video games: U.S. DOJ

• The U.S. Department of Justice has proposed additional restrictions on Sam Bankman-Fried’s internet usage.
• The restrictions include using a flip phone with no internet connectivity and sole access to whitelisted websites.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried may face additional restrictions on his internet usage as part of his bail conditions. The United States Department of Justice has recommended a flip phone with no internet connectivity for the disgraced founder.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams made the filing. The calls for restrictions came days after suspicions arose that Bankman-Fried had attempted to contact witnesses, including former FTX employees, while on bail for charges of wire fraud and money laundering.

No more video games for Sam Bankman-Fried

According to the court filing by the DOJ attorney, Sam Bankman-Fried’s laptop will be restricted to a list of approved websites, including news, sports, Wikipedia, and the U.S. government. The proposal further restricted SBF’s use of video games and other smart devices that permit chat or voice communication.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a filing that these conditions were made “on behalf of the parties.” This suggested that Bankman-Fried’s defense team had agreed to them.

The filing also demanded a sworn affidavit from Bankman-Fried’s parents, listing their respective devices with serial numbers and MAC addresses, and representing that they will not bring additional devices into the home nor permit their son to access their devices. Furthermore, they would have to password-protect their respective devices. 

The Department of Justice’s decision to tighten SBF’s bail terms came after the former FTX CEO was found using encrypted communication applications to contact former FTX employees and witnesses. Prosecutors alleged at the time that SBF was tampering with witnesses in the criminal case against him.

At a previous hearing, Judge Lewis Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York expressed his suspicions about claims that Bankman-Fried used online privacy to watch football.