I'm somewhat puzzled when this defense comes up, but I think it's worthwhile debating it. Does the condition of how you came upon the contents have any real be

I'm somewhat puzzled when this defense comes up, but I think it's worthwhile debating it. Does the condition of how you came upon the contents have any real bearing on the matter? I mean, nobody is really saying that accessing an open website itself is illegal. But it's not as if this circumstance will alleviate all future repercussions of your subsequent actions. I suspect I don't have to give analogies of what might be an inappropriate action - there are a number of things you could find on an open website that could be illegal to distribute. I suspect a much more interesting argument exactly is the issue with having this particular data - what laws are being broken by redistributing it (I don't have the answer). But that was not the point that you raised, hence my reply.