4 ms·

It’s now a felony to send api calls? Give me a break

sneed_chucker 3y ago
The US unfortunately has intentionally vaguely written laws about misusing computer systems which can be interpreted to punish hackers and pentesters pretty harshly.
callalex 3y ago
[flagged]
- archgoon 3y ago
  The US government did not murder Aaron Schwartz. The story is tragic enough without misrepresenting his mistreatment by the government.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - Fatnino 3y ago
    Vigorously prosecuted till death.
- thephyber 3y ago
  > the US government murdered him Clarification: he suicided while awaiting trial after the DoJ (and possibly MIT and the journal/publisher) threw the book at him in an effort to get him to plea out to a lesser felony.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
- mrguyorama 3y ago
  If you issue a GET to a child porn website, that is a crime. Intent, action, and outcome are all considered in legal matters, much in the same way that using a gun to hunt often is legal while shooting someone is rarely legal. An action doesn't end where you conveniently want it. Aaron Schwartz was doing some pretty blatant and cheeky piracy, and the AG either wanted to make an example out of him or coerce a plea, and he chose to end his life under such pressure. It's an abhorrent event, and deserves criticism, but embellishing and outright lying about the reality is doing him no favors.
unmole 3y ago
It's a crime to intentionally drive a car over someone. Legal systems vary across the world but I would imagine most of them account for mens rea. So, crafting API calls to intentionally bring down a system most definitely can be a criminal offence. Now if you're objection was to the use of felony as opposed to misdemeanor, then ignore whatever I said above.
saagarjha 3y ago
It’s a felony to mail people things? Not usually, but if you send them a pipe bomb it sure is.
- tomxor 3y ago
  This is an absurd analogy from where this began... I'm at most slowing down a server in Russia that is trying to defraud people, no one is getting hurt, and It's unlikely I'm costing them any money. Come back to reality.
thephyber 3y ago
The CFAA is controversial because of how vague the statue is. It has no carveouts for vigilantes or "hack back", last I heard -- even though some in Congress were trying to push for "hack back" rights. The DoJ is unlikely to prosecute a vigilante of scammers, but they have prosecuted others (eg. Aaron Swartz) who were doing a debatably morally upright actions while violating the letter of the law.

The US unfortunately has intentionally vaguely written laws about misusing computer systems which can be interpreted to punish hackers and pentesters pretty harshly.

callalex 3y ago

[flagged]

archgoon 3y ago
The US government did not murder Aaron Schwartz. The story is tragic enough without misrepresenting his mistreatment by the government.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- Fatnino 3y ago
  Vigorously prosecuted till death.
thephyber 3y ago
> the US government murdered him Clarification: he suicided while awaiting trial after the DoJ (and possibly MIT and the journal/publisher) threw the book at him in an effort to get him to plea out to a lesser felony.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
mrguyorama 3y ago
If you issue a GET to a child porn website, that is a crime. Intent, action, and outcome are all considered in legal matters, much in the same way that using a gun to hunt often is legal while shooting someone is rarely legal. An action doesn't end where you conveniently want it. Aaron Schwartz was doing some pretty blatant and cheeky piracy, and the AG either wanted to make an example out of him or coerce a plea, and he chose to end his life under such pressure. It's an abhorrent event, and deserves criticism, but embellishing and outright lying about the reality is doing him no favors.

unmole 3y ago

It's a crime to intentionally drive a car over someone. Legal systems vary across the world but I would imagine most of them account for mens rea. So, crafting API calls to intentionally bring down a system most definitely can be a criminal offence. Now if you're objection was to the use of felony as opposed to misdemeanor, then ignore whatever I said above.

saagarjha 3y ago

It’s a felony to mail people things? Not usually, but if you send them a pipe bomb it sure is.

tomxor 3y ago
This is an absurd analogy from where this began... I'm at most slowing down a server in Russia that is trying to defraud people, no one is getting hurt, and It's unlikely I'm costing them any money. Come back to reality.

thephyber 3y ago

The CFAA is controversial because of how vague the statue is. It has no carveouts for vigilantes or "hack back", last I heard -- even though some in Congress were trying to push for "hack back" rights. The DoJ is unlikely to prosecute a vigilante of scammers, but they have prosecuted others (eg. Aaron Swartz) who were doing a debatably morally upright actions while violating the letter of the law.