Federal Computer Crime Laws, more info/
Why I Write About Computer Law
by Sue Basko
In the last blog post, I listed Federal Crimes and the legal code sections under which they are actually prosecuted by the federal prosecutors. This information is direct from the prosecutorial handbooks. I did not research these myself, I simply cribbed what the prosecutors use.
A young man on Twitter was questioning whether some of these laws pertain to computer usage. I have not read all of them, but these are in fact the code sections applied by federal prosecutors who are assigned to bring evidence to a grand jury for an indictment and then later to prosecute the case. The sections that I have read do apply to computers, often by referring to "electronic communications," "electronic transmissions," "telecommunications," and the like.
The same young man also questioned how it is that he might possibly have broken federal law many times on Twitter and yet, he was still a Twitter user. The answer for this is quite simple: Twitter is not enforcing the law. That's not their job. Twitter is only slightly responding to Abuse Reports. It would be the FBI that would handle complaints of computer crimes such as stalking, threats, and obscenity that might take place on Twitter.
Also, please keep in mind that the FBI does not have power to remove things off of the internet, other than if it is a true national security concern. Go onto Youtube and watch the Barrett Brown videos where he talks about his dealings with an FBI agent. Barrett has been charged with various crimes based on the videos, but the videos remain up on Youtube. Also, the Stratfor emails are online, but Jeremy Hammond sits in jail for allegedly hacking them. There are many other similar examples.
WHY I PROVIDED THE COMPUTER CRIMES LIST: I provided the computer crimes list and will provide more information on how the federal prosecutors are told to interpret the law in upcoming blog posts. My reason for doing this is to inform people of REALITY. Right now, I see infiltrators running certain groups on the internet and obviously trying to influence the followers into committing crimes. I noticed a few such leaders of entrapment groups mocking the blog post or mocking me, trying to diminish the truth or trying to discredit me.
These ridiculous people call me stupid, crazy, delusional, etc -- to try to discredit me because I am presenting the young people online with what the law actually is. I consider the people making those attempts to discredit my work to be pathetic, shills, selling their souls for a paycheck. I want you to know the truth and am willing to tell you, even if it means I get called names by some wicked people who do not want you to know the truth because they want you to go to prison. They want you to fill the cement cellblocks so that a corporation that runs prisons can have a bigger profit. They want you to go to prison so they fill their own scorecard and get promoted on the job. I am telling you the truth, so you can know what the law is and not be entrapped. I want you to have information so you can make wise decisions. You can do as you wish with the information, but I want you to have it.
I think our government should be TEACHING young people, NOT ENTRAPPING them. And my effort at teaching them, at teaching you, is giving you the truth. Unlike those whose jobs it is to entrap you, I have nothing to gain one way or the other. But as a lawyer who cares deeply and truly about young people, I care if you get tricked or fooled into believing your actions are legal when they are not.
In the entrapment groups, they are surrounding you to try to make you feel like everyone is doing it, it is the cool thing to do, you will lose your friend circle if you don't participate. These are typical entrapment tricks that the "leaders" have been taught in special training. Please try to see if for what it is. Consider whether you want to wreck your life to please some goofed-up character on the internet who collects his or her paycheck and lives a real life at the end of their shift of toying with you.
