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If the SEC pursues prosecutions based on reports from hackers which uses the threat of SEC reports to extract payments, the SEC will be enabling and enforcing b
by nickff 3y ago
If the SEC pursues prosecutions based on reports from hackers which uses the threat of SEC reports to extract payments, the SEC will be enabling and enforcing blackmail. The SEC would essentially be an accessory to the crime.
- elefanten 3y agoThat’s not how the law would see it. Blackmailers incorporating otherwise-legal third party activity into their threat does not add legal liability for that 3rd party. Nor does it excuse any pre-existing liability for the blackmail target.
- nickff 3y agoI'm not sure whether there'd be legal liability; that would probably depend on whether the third-party was aware of the scheme, and how often they 'enabled' it. I doubt that the SEC would be found to be an accessory the first time this happened (unless they'd been specifically warned), but if this happened frequently, I think they'd likely be found guilty by way of 'reckless or wanton negligence'. They might even be subjects of civil actions by victims of these blackmail schemes at a later date (if the circumstances were right).