4 ms·

Criminal charges for what exactly? They shared their user data with other companies. Since when is that criminal?

by darawk 8y ago

jacquesm 8y ago
5th of May last year in many places and in every other place in the world where you manage to convince a judge that it is. It's easier when there are explicit laws on the books.
- darawk 8y ago
  Which laws are those?
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - kenrose 8y ago
    I think he’s referring to GDPR.
    - pilsetnieks 8y ago
      GDPR was 25th of May, and it's still not a criminal law.
jparse 8y ago
Did you read the article? Here is the excerpt: > Privacy advocates said the partnerships seemed to violate a 2011 consent agreement between Facebook and the F.T.C., stemming from allegations that the company had shared data in ways that deceived consumers. The deals also appeared to contradict statements by Mark Zuckerberg and other executives that Facebook had clamped down several years ago on sharing the data of users’ friends with outside developers.
- badfrog 8y ago
  Nothing in that sounds criminal (though I'm not a lawyer) except maybe perjury if the "contradicted statements" were under oath.
- darawk 8y ago
  And how exactly would any of that lead to criminal charges for any engineers?
- dang 8y ago
  Please don't insinuate that someone hasn't read an article. "Did you even read the article? It mentions that" can be shortened to "The article mentions that." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
georgeecollins 8y ago
https://www.netlawman.co.uk/ia/breach-of-consent-order https://www.netlawman.co.uk/ia/breach-of-consent-order
- darawk 8y ago
  Breach of a consent decree is not necessarily criminal, as far as I can tell. And even if it was, it definitely wouldn't represent a crime on the part of any FB engineers.
  - otterley 8y ago
    Attorney here! Violation of a consent decree can result in criminal contempt-of-court charges. See 18 U.S.C. section 401 (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/401 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/401). See also United States v. Schine, 125 F. Supp. 734 (W.D.N.Y. 1954).
    - ohitburns 8y ago
      But why why would that be enforced by the USAO-EDNY?
    - darawk 8y ago
      Sure, it can result in a criminal charge, but it is not in and of itself a crime. So, investigating them for breach of consent decree is not a 'criminal investigation'.
      - otterley 8y ago
        Bluntly speaking, you are totally, completely wrong. You can't imprison someone in the U.S. unless that person is reasonably suspected of a crime or has committed one. The code in question allows for such imprisonment - that's why it's called "criminal contempt."
        darawk 8y ago

Criminal charges for what exactly? They shared their user data with other companies. Since when is that criminal?

by darawk 8y ago

Criminal charges for what exactly? They shared their user data with other companies. Since when is that criminal?

5th of May last year in many places and in every other place in the world where you manage to convince a judge that it is. It's easier when there are explicit laws on the books.

darawk 8y ago
Which laws are those?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- kenrose 8y ago
  I think he’s referring to GDPR.
  - pilsetnieks 8y ago
    GDPR was 25th of May, and it's still not a criminal law.

jparse 8y ago

Did you read the article? Here is the excerpt: > Privacy advocates said the partnerships seemed to violate a 2011 consent agreement between Facebook and the F.T.C., stemming from allegations that the company had shared data in ways that deceived consumers. The deals also appeared to contradict statements by Mark Zuckerberg and other executives that Facebook had clamped down several years ago on sharing the data of users’ friends with outside developers.

badfrog 8y ago
Nothing in that sounds criminal (though I'm not a lawyer) except maybe perjury if the "contradicted statements" were under oath.
darawk 8y ago
And how exactly would any of that lead to criminal charges for any engineers?
dang 8y ago
Please don't insinuate that someone hasn't read an article. "Did you even read the article? It mentions that" can be shortened to "The article mentions that." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

georgeecollins 8y ago

https://www.netlawman.co.uk/ia/breach-of-consent-order https://www.netlawman.co.uk/ia/breach-of-consent-order

darawk 8y ago
Breach of a consent decree is not necessarily criminal, as far as I can tell. And even if it was, it definitely wouldn't represent a crime on the part of any FB engineers.
- otterley 8y ago
  Attorney here! Violation of a consent decree can result in criminal contempt-of-court charges. See 18 U.S.C. section 401 (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/401 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/401). See also United States v. Schine, 125 F. Supp. 734 (W.D.N.Y. 1954).
  - ohitburns 8y ago
    But why why would that be enforced by the USAO-EDNY?
  - darawk 8y ago
    Sure, it can result in a criminal charge, but it is not in and of itself a crime. So, investigating them for breach of consent decree is not a 'criminal investigation'.
    - otterley 8y ago
      Bluntly speaking, you are totally, completely wrong. You can't imprison someone in the U.S. unless that person is reasonably suspected of a crime or has committed one. The code in question allows for such imprisonment - that's why it's called "criminal contempt."
      - darawk 8y ago