3 ms·

Playing devil's advocate: This isn't about data ownership but about computer ownership. If you're going to access Facebook's servers, then you need to do so i

by repiret 16y ago

Playing devil's advocate: This isn't about data ownership but about computer ownership. If you're going to access Facebook's servers, then you need to do so in a way that complies with Facebook's rules. Power Ventures ignored robots.txt, and circumvented an IP address block. In concept, this is no different than bypassing the password of a password protected web site. That said, I'm with the EFF on this one.

jasonlotito 16y ago
While I understand you are playing devil's advocate, I think one problem they would have is that they'd have to prove that Power Ventures is doing this themselves, which they aren't. One argument could be that power ventures built the application, and users of Facebook are in fact utilizing the software to perform these actions. If Facebook were to approach anyone, it would be the users of the software. I think that argument holds as much water as Facebook's, if not more so.
ryoshu 16y ago
I'm not sure why ignoring robots.txt or an IP block would violate criminal statutes. I'm not even sure why circumvention would violate civil statutes. Obeying robots.txt is common courtesy. For IP blocks /and/ people that ignore robots.txt, I have years of logs I'd like to turn over to the proper authorities.
modeless 16y ago
Circumventing access controls should not be illegal. The DMCA has shown us why this is a bad idea. If circumventing access controls leads to a real crime, then prosecute that crime instead. For an analogy to the real world, think about lockpicking. Lockpicking should be legal. Picking locks isn't the real crime; it's theft, trespassing, destruction of property, etc. that we should prosecute. In this case users authorized Power Ventures to access their Facebook accounts (in exactly the same way users authorize Facebook to access their GMail/Hotmail/etc. accounts), so no actual crime was committed after circumventing the access controls.

by repiret 16y ago

jasonlotito 16y ago

While I understand you are playing devil's advocate, I think one problem they would have is that they'd have to prove that Power Ventures is doing this themselves, which they aren't. One argument could be that power ventures built the application, and users of Facebook are in fact utilizing the software to perform these actions. If Facebook were to approach anyone, it would be the users of the software. I think that argument holds as much water as Facebook's, if not more so.

ryoshu 16y ago

I'm not sure why ignoring robots.txt or an IP block would violate criminal statutes. I'm not even sure why circumvention would violate civil statutes. Obeying robots.txt is common courtesy. For IP blocks /and/ people that ignore robots.txt, I have years of logs I'd like to turn over to the proper authorities.

modeless 16y ago

Circumventing access controls should not be illegal. The DMCA has shown us why this is a bad idea. If circumventing access controls leads to a real crime, then prosecute that crime instead. For an analogy to the real world, think about lockpicking. Lockpicking should be legal. Picking locks isn't the real crime; it's theft, trespassing, destruction of property, etc. that we should prosecute. In this case users authorized Power Ventures to access their Facebook accounts (in exactly the same way users authorize Facebook to access their GMail/Hotmail/etc. accounts), so no actual crime was committed after circumventing the access controls.