United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 20-3189 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. THOMAS J. OWENS, Defendant-Appellant. ____________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. No. 18-cr-00157 — William C. Griesbach, Judge. ____________________

ARGUED SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 — DECIDED NOVEMBER 19, 2021 ____________________

Before FLAUM, KANNE, and SCUDDER, Circuit Judges. FLAUM, Circuit Judge. It is criminal “distribut[ion]” of child pornography within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2) to knowingly make a file containing child pornography availa- ble for others to access and download via a peer-to-peer file- sharing network. See United States v. Ryan, 885 F.3d 449, 453 (7th Cir. 2018). The government has developed an investiga- tive practice where it employs a confidential software pro- gram to participate in