However,voter intimidation is still a protected right
Posted on 11/15/2011 1:45:14 PM PST by FourPeas
The U.S. Department of Justice is defending computer hacking laws that make it a crime to use a fake name on Facebook or lie about your weight in an online dating profile at a site like Match.com.
In a statement obtained by CNET that's scheduled to be delivered tomorrow, the Justice Department argues that it must be able to prosecute violations of Web sites' often-ignored, always-unintelligible "terms of service" policies.
The law must allow "prosecutions based upon a violation of terms of service or similar contractual agreement with an employer or provider," Richard Downing, the Justice Department's deputy computer crime chief, will tell the U.S. Congress tomorrow.
Scaling back that law "would make it difficult or impossible to deter and address serious insider threats through prosecution," and jeopardize prosecutions involving identity theft, misuse of government databases, and privacy invasions, according to Downing.
The law in question, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, has been used by the Justice Department to prosecute a woman, Lori Drew, who used a fake MySpace account to verbally attack a 13-year old girl who then committed suicide. Because MySpace's terms of service prohibit impersonation, Drew was convicted of violating the CFAA. Her conviction was later thrown out.
What makes this possible is a section of the CFAA that was never intended to be used that way: a general-purpose prohibition on any computer-based act that "exceeds authorized access." To the Justice Department, this means that a Web site's terms of service define what's "authorized" or not, and ignoring them can turn you into a felon.
On the other hand, because millions of Americans likely violate terms of service
(Excerpt) Read more at news.cnet.com ...
You mean in the same manner that giving fully automatic weapons to Mexican Drug Cartels is?
People lying to impress the other sex is going to be a CRIME?
Does that mean my daughter’s cat has to take down its Facebook page?
The Just Us Dept. can’t be bothered to enforce (or follow) Constitutional matters, but can Facebutt terms of service?
nice.
also, kinda like using 12 SS #'s and being ineligible to be president but,,,
However, me thinks the DOJ has more important things to tend to at the moment.
However,voter intimidation is still a protected right
hopefully you haven’t removed any mattress tags .
never give your real name on the internet and trust no one ,but trust me my name is molson209 LOL
Pssst, I’m really an FSU Grad from Houston.
This is their entry into regulating content on the internet.
Think of all the, “lies” here on FR which will need their attention. Slippery slope ahead!
So, the people who think it is NO bodies business what their posting history is, and WANT to keep their personal stuff, personal, can’t have a “alias” name?
They want to be able to know who you are, what you think, and no place to hide, because you know, keeping the plebs in line is just so much more important than actually enforcing the laws already on the books.
Need to keep all these morons in line while we fleece them clean of everything they own.
Agreed, that’s why I was thinking civil vs criminal.
Does it mean I have to give my actual weight for my driver’s license? I didn’t do that at 16... I sure as heck am NOT doing it now!
Dude, someones pissed off that when their date showed up they were not as good looking as they were when they saw them online. (laugh)
I think the feds want to get involved in literally everything just so the sheeple will continue to consider them relevant.
So any liberal trolls on Free Republic can be imprisoned. Same thing for Romney trolls.
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