Should Faking a Name on Facebook Be a Felony?

Imagine that President Obama could order the arrest of anyone who broke a promise on the Internet. So you could be jailed for lying about your age or weight on an Internet dating site. Or you could be sent to federal prison if your boss told you to work but you used the company's computer to check sports scores online. Imagine that Eric Holder's Justice Department urged Congress to raise penalties for violations, making them felonies allowing three years in jail for each broken promise. Fanciful, right?

 

Think again. Congress is now poised to grant the Obama administration's wishes in the name of "cybersecurity."

 

The little-known law at issue is called the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. It was enacted in 1986 to punish computer hacking. But Congress has broadened the law every few years, and today it extends far beyond hacking. The law now criminalizes computer use that "exceeds authorized access" to any computer. Today that violation is a misdemeanor, but the Senate Judiciary Committee is set to meet this morning to vote on making it a felony.

 

The problem is that a lot of routine computer use can exceed "authorized access." Courts are still struggling to interpret this language. But the Justice Department believes that it applies incredibly broadly to include "terms of use" violations and breaches of workplace computer-use policies.

 

Breaching an agreement or ignoring your boss might be bad. But should it be a federal crime just because it involves a computer? If interpreted this way, the law gives computer owners the power to criminalize any computer use they don't like. Imagine the Democratic Party setting up a public website and announcing that no Republicans can visit. Every Republican who checked out the site could be a criminal for exceeding authorized access.

 

If that sounds far-fetched, consider a few recent cases. In 2009, the Justice Department prosecuted a woman for violating the "terms of service" of the social networking site MySpace.com. The woman had been part of a group that set up a MySpace profile using a fake picture. The feds charged her with conspiracy to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Prosecutors say the woman exceeded authorized access because MySpace required all profile information to be truthful. But people routinely misstate the truth in online profiles, about everything from their age to their name. What happens when each instance is a felony?

 

kerr
Getty Images

In 2010, the Justice Department charged a defendant with unauthorized access for using a computer to buy tickets from Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster's website lets anyone visit. But its "terms of use" only permitted non-automated purchases, and the defendant used a computer script to make the purchases.

Continues
http://online.wsj.com/art...

Views: 1055

Replies to This Discussion

not that i trust ning.

Logging onto Facebook could become a felony

Published: 16 September, 2011, 21:55

Logging onto Facebook could become a felony

Logging onto Facebook could become a felony

TAGS: Crime, Scandal, SciTech, Politics, Law, Internet, Information Technology, USA, Culture, Social networks


Reading this article could land you in prison.

The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act has been on the books since the 1980s to allow the feds to go after the culprits of malicious hacks and cybercrimes. An addendum to the act that Congress is expected to take a look at today, however, can cause almost any misuse of a computer to be interpreted as a felony.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on an updated version of the act on Friday that will make it a felony crime to use a computer in a way that “exceeds authorized access.” But what exactly constitutes authorized access?

Exactly.

The wording of the addition creates a slippery slope that could cause nearly anyone to be punished for violating the rules of, well, anyone. "The problem” with the proposed legislation, says Orin Kerr of The Wall Street Journal, “is that a lot of routine computer use can exceed 'authorized access.'"

Violating those mundane Terms of Use agreements on websites could be interpreted as a violation of the law, as could going against a workplace Internet protocol policy. That means that fibbing on your Facebook profile, logging on to check sports scores at work or even browsing RT.com when you’re on the clock could, depending on who says what’s cool and what’s not, land you in prison.

more

 

I am about to abort Facebook cause everything on there is getting out of control. I tried to play the sweepstakes and lost 117 times so far, never won anything.  I feel that these sweepstakes are nothing but catches, scams, and obligations to make you buy something.     No I don't think it should be a felony cause what if you lost your password and your user name you should have every right to create another account as much as you need to.    I wish that people would not hack our Facebook accounts and compromise them.   Also the spyware and adware NEED's to go! There is plenty of it on each app, page, and other parts of Facebook.

RSS

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Doc Vega posted blog posts
44 minutes ago
rlionhearted_3 posted photos
1 hour ago
rlionhearted_3 favorited Doc Vega's photo
1 hour ago
tjdavis posted a video

Alabama’s Biggest Secret - Operation Paperclip 🇺🇸

In the north of Alabama is the city of Huntsville. It's here where German scientists built NASA in secrecy after World War II. Operation Paperclip is still s...
5 hours ago
tjdavis posted a photo
6 hours ago
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Americans You’re Being Squeezed Out!
"Cheeki kea always nice to her you chime in and you're damn right! "
21 hours ago
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Americans You’re Being Squeezed Out!
"Les Prone thanks for your support Dude! "
21 hours ago
Doc Vega posted a photo

The inconvenient truth

Trump spells it out!
yesterday
Sandy posted a photo
yesterday
Less Prone favorited Doc Vega's blog post What Made the Founding Fathers of America so Brilliant?
yesterday
Less Prone commented on Doc Vega's blog post Why didn't the Archeological World Announce Proof that Jesus Lived?
"Motives of Joe, to shit in the well by showing totally irrelevant proof?"
yesterday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Why didn't the Archeological World Announce Proof that Jesus Lived?
"Less, Motives of Wyatt or Joe? What archeologist wouldn't want proof of Jesus as part of his…"
yesterday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Why didn't the Archeological World Announce Proof that Jesus Lived?
"Less Prone, Considering Joe Rogan to be the gatekeeper of anything is just short of ridiculous the…"
yesterday
Doc Vega posted a blog post
yesterday
MAC posted a video

Don't Go To Hong Kong Now (Even on Connecting Flights)

Secure your privacy with Surfshark! Enter coupon code laowhy86 for an extra 3 months free at https://Surfshark.deals/laowhy86Article 23 in Hong Kong is real,...
Tuesday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's video
Thumbnail

Terrorist Attack on Moscow - Ukraine Committing Suicide? | Larry C. Johnson

"...And I guess I'll just park this you tube here also for something to ponder from last year.…"
Tuesday
tjdavis posted photos
Tuesday
Less Prone posted a video

Climate: The Movie (The Cold Truth) NL

Deze nieuwe documentaire van de Britse filmmaker Martin Durkin toont aan dat klimaatalarm een verzonnen doembeeld is zonder enige wetenschappelijke basis. He...
Monday
Less Prone commented on Doc Vega's blog post Why didn't the Archeological World Announce Proof that Jesus Lived?
"It can be true, but why isn't he offering real evidence? What are his motives?"
Monday
Less Prone favorited Doc Vega's blog post Americans You’re Being Squeezed Out!
Monday

© 2024   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted