4 ms·

So if you lie to anybody in the US, and this person submits this lie to the government, it could be used to prosecute you? That is creepy!

praptak 9y ago
It doesn't even sound like either you or that person needs to be in the US. Pretty funny if you combine it with how some countries are willing to bend over to help Uncle Sam's goons jail anyone they label a criminal.
mywittyname 9y ago
I wonder how deep this goes. What if you a mistyped phone number on a bank form that get submitted to government authorities as part of routine compliance? Is that a crime? Is there even a difference between a mistake and intentionally transposing two numbers?
- eric_h 9y ago
  > difference between a mistake and intentionally transposing two numbers This is slightly rambling/OT: I dated a girl who would do that regularly to guys who were being entirely too aggressive about getting her number. She told me it was a pretty effective tactic to shake them off, and even if they figured out it was the wrong number it could be passed off as an innocent mistake. I'm also fairly certain there's a girl who lives near where I grew up (and likely has a mobile number a short levenshtein distance from mine) who does the same thing, as I have literally no connections to that area, other than my immediate family, who have the same area code and exchange that my mobile number does. Nevertheless, I do occasionally get texts/calls from random guys obviously trying to contact a woman who is not me (this has been happening for almost a decade). But! To add to your point - what if the aggressive dude trying to get your phone number works for a federal LEO? Could they use the system to hold your disinterest in them against you, just out of spite? [edit: words for clarity]
  - praptak 9y ago
    TFA says it needs to influence, or at least have some potential to, their decisions as a government agent. So, no.

praptak 9y ago

It doesn't even sound like either you or that person needs to be in the US. Pretty funny if you combine it with how some countries are willing to bend over to help Uncle Sam's goons jail anyone they label a criminal.

mywittyname 9y ago

I wonder how deep this goes. What if you a mistyped phone number on a bank form that get submitted to government authorities as part of routine compliance? Is that a crime? Is there even a difference between a mistake and intentionally transposing two numbers?

eric_h 9y ago
> difference between a mistake and intentionally transposing two numbers This is slightly rambling/OT: I dated a girl who would do that regularly to guys who were being entirely too aggressive about getting her number. She told me it was a pretty effective tactic to shake them off, and even if they figured out it was the wrong number it could be passed off as an innocent mistake. I'm also fairly certain there's a girl who lives near where I grew up (and likely has a mobile number a short levenshtein distance from mine) who does the same thing, as I have literally no connections to that area, other than my immediate family, who have the same area code and exchange that my mobile number does. Nevertheless, I do occasionally get texts/calls from random guys obviously trying to contact a woman who is not me (this has been happening for almost a decade). But! To add to your point - what if the aggressive dude trying to get your phone number works for a federal LEO? Could they use the system to hold your disinterest in them against you, just out of spite? [edit: words for clarity]
- praptak 9y ago
  TFA says it needs to influence, or at least have some potential to, their decisions as a government agent. So, no.