Dangerous Precedence Set - Federal Criminal Charges for Violation of Commercial Online ToS?

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: sdpoe () airmail net
Date: November 27, 2008 12:24:49 PM EST
To: <dfarber () cs cmu edu>, <dave () farber net>
Cc: <sdpoe () acm org>
Subject: Dangerous Precedence Set - Federal Criminal Charges for  
Violation of Commercial Online ToS?
Reply-To: sdpoe () airmail net

Dave -

For IP, if you like. Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanks,
Stephen
---
A very dangerous legal precedence was set today.

In the case of the 13 year old who committed suicide supposedly over a  
MySpace
hoax, the mother involved was found guilty on three federal counts.  
What of? Not
of a serious criminal act.

She was found guilty on three criminal counts (misdemeanors), in a  
federal court,
of violating the Terms of Service agreement. So now you can be  
accused, tried,
and found guilty of a federal criminal offense not for breaking a  
Federal or even
a state law, but rather for violating the Terms of Service of a click- 
through
agreement of a commercial site you go to on the Web.

"Prosecutors alleged that Drew and her employee violated MySpace's  
"terms of
service," which prohibit using fraudulent registration information,  
obtaining
personal information about juvenile members, and using the service to  
harass,
abuse or harm others...

The verdict underscores the complexities of the case. Some legal  
experts and
civil liberties groups said a felony conviction would mean that  
millions of
people who violate the terms of service of the Web sites they visit  
could become
criminally liable. Experts also said that if violating such terms is a  
crime,
then the sites that write the agreements essentially could function as  
lawmakers
or prosecutors. "
- from the Washington Post @
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/26/AR2008112600629.html?hpid=topnews

"The case was prosecuted under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act,
originally intended to prosecute hackers. Did Lori Drew effectively  
hack MySpace
for nefarious purposes? Some people think it’s quite a stretch.

"This was a very aggressive, if not misguided, theory,” said Matt  
Levine, a New
York-based defense attorney and former federal prosecutor.  
“Unfortunately,
there’s not a law that covers every bad thing in the world. It’s a bad  
idea to
use laws that have very different purpose.” "
- from ZDNet @ http://government.zdnet.com/?p=4207
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