5 ms·

So what are those three felonies?

by molf 13y ago

kevingadd 13y ago
The first one is asking what the three felonies are. You see, when you were born your parents were sent a National Security Letter (NSL) by the government that stated you can never ask about the three felonies. Unfortunately, the NSL came with a gag order, so your parents never told you. But you definitely shouldn't ask what the three felonies are. The second felony is owning a computer which can be used to circumvent content protection mechanisms. You can address this by purchasing a fixed-function device which cannot be used to circumvent content protection. I suggest an etch-a-sketch. The third felony is
- jlgreco 13y ago
  "NO CARRIER"?
einhverfr 13y ago
Silverglate talks about a number of cases, some of which have been addressed either before the book was written or after, but the overall problem is still out there. For example, see the honest services fraud charges against Jeff Skilling (of Enron fame), on the idea that anything dishonest any corporate executive might do would be depriving the corporation of honest services. Now the Supreme Court reversed Skilling's conviction on the grounds that this was just too vague and that honest services fraud was limited to kickback schemes and the like. However consider many more: Lori Drew was prosecuted for unauthorized access to computer servers for violating the terms of service of MySpace (iirc). The subsequent directed verdict of acquittal (after the jury convicted) however did not really eliminate the possibility of ToS violations turning into federal felonies. This was not covered in the book but it is worth noting. Many of the examples in the books are profession-related. Silverglate goes into detail on the Hurwitz narcotics case where a doctor who operated in line with emerging best practices for chronic pain management was tried and convicted of drug trafficking on the grounds that he had statistical knowledge of the likelihood that at patients might resell the drugs on the street. Hurwitz's conviction was later vacated, but they tried him and convicted him again of a smaller set of charges. He goes also into medical billing disputes (I have family members who have been on the losing side of these regarding the government and can attest that these are still significant issues). Another case he does not cover is the Joe Naccio case (covered in the link). Another case he does not cover was that of my mother's uncle, who they accused of purjury for claiming never to have been a Communist, when their evidence of his lying was that he was legally representing the Communist Party USA and others as a lawyer. They lost that case but came back one tax issue after another until they found something to stick. There are cases after cases to those of us who follow these things. It is a systemic problem. Keep in mind that under some of these theories of law, checking Hacker News from work when you should be working is a federal felony, and if not honest services fraud, certainly something they could try you with for wire fraud (it is financial in that you are billing your employer for your time!). Moreover if you check a site for non-work purposes which has a note in the ToS which says that unlawful use is prohibited, then you have committed felony computer trespass (because you "accessed" their servers in excess of authorization provided by the ToS in pursuit of criminal or tortuous ends). TL;DR: What felonies you commit are unimportant. If they want to, they will find something.
- Kiro 13y ago
  No, I want to know what felonies I commit.
  - einhverfr 13y ago
    So do I. But the point is that these felonies are largely a product of trying to stretch other laws to cover behavior none of us would consider illegal. However, the big one I would look at in current times for most people is violating web site terms of service. My point is that the mentality is "Show me the man and I'll find you the crime."
    - arethuza 13y ago
      I thought I recognised that quote - it's from Lavrentiy Beria http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavrentiy_Beria http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavrentiy_Beria
  - youngerdryas 13y ago
    Blog spam?
  - ownagefool 13y ago
    Part of the point is you aren't supposed to know, otherwise you'll be able to stop doing them and the authorities will lose their potential future leverage. Another way to look at it is you aren't, but should you come to the right peoples attention, they'll figure out how to bend the rules enough so that you are. No way of really knowing until laws are rolled back, simplified, and followed both from within the confines of the letter of the law and the spirit thereof.
    - einhverfr 13y ago
      Almost. They aren't discrete things. They need to be laws that can be stretched to include everyone. That way it doesn't actually matter what you do.
  - alan_cx 13y ago

So what are those three felonies?

by molf 13y ago

So what are those three felonies?

The first one is asking what the three felonies are. You see, when you were born your parents were sent a National Security Letter (NSL) by the government that stated you can never ask about the three felonies. Unfortunately, the NSL came with a gag order, so your parents never told you. But you definitely shouldn't ask what the three felonies are. The second felony is owning a computer which can be used to circumvent content protection mechanisms. You can address this by purchasing a fixed-function device which cannot be used to circumvent content protection. I suggest an etch-a-sketch. The third felony is

jlgreco 13y ago
"NO CARRIER"?

einhverfr 13y ago

Silverglate talks about a number of cases, some of which have been addressed either before the book was written or after, but the overall problem is still out there. For example, see the honest services fraud charges against Jeff Skilling (of Enron fame), on the idea that anything dishonest any corporate executive might do would be depriving the corporation of honest services. Now the Supreme Court reversed Skilling's conviction on the grounds that this was just too vague and that honest services fraud was limited to kickback schemes and the like. However consider many more: Lori Drew was prosecuted for unauthorized access to computer servers for violating the terms of service of MySpace (iirc). The subsequent directed verdict of acquittal (after the jury convicted) however did not really eliminate the possibility of ToS violations turning into federal felonies. This was not covered in the book but it is worth noting. Many of the examples in the books are profession-related. Silverglate goes into detail on the Hurwitz narcotics case where a doctor who operated in line with emerging best practices for chronic pain management was tried and convicted of drug trafficking on the grounds that he had statistical knowledge of the likelihood that at patients might resell the drugs on the street. Hurwitz's conviction was later vacated, but they tried him and convicted him again of a smaller set of charges. He goes also into medical billing disputes (I have family members who have been on the losing side of these regarding the government and can attest that these are still significant issues). Another case he does not cover is the Joe Naccio case (covered in the link). Another case he does not cover was that of my mother's uncle, who they accused of purjury for claiming never to have been a Communist, when their evidence of his lying was that he was legally representing the Communist Party USA and others as a lawyer. They lost that case but came back one tax issue after another until they found something to stick. There are cases after cases to those of us who follow these things. It is a systemic problem. Keep in mind that under some of these theories of law, checking Hacker News from work when you should be working is a federal felony, and if not honest services fraud, certainly something they could try you with for wire fraud (it is financial in that you are billing your employer for your time!). Moreover if you check a site for non-work purposes which has a note in the ToS which says that unlawful use is prohibited, then you have committed felony computer trespass (because you "accessed" their servers in excess of authorization provided by the ToS in pursuit of criminal or tortuous ends). TL;DR: What felonies you commit are unimportant. If they want to, they will find something.

Kiro 13y ago
No, I want to know what felonies I commit.
- einhverfr 13y ago
  So do I. But the point is that these felonies are largely a product of trying to stretch other laws to cover behavior none of us would consider illegal. However, the big one I would look at in current times for most people is violating web site terms of service. My point is that the mentality is "Show me the man and I'll find you the crime."
  - arethuza 13y ago
    I thought I recognised that quote - it's from Lavrentiy Beria http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavrentiy_Beria http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavrentiy_Beria
- youngerdryas 13y ago
  Blog spam?
- ownagefool 13y ago
  Part of the point is you aren't supposed to know, otherwise you'll be able to stop doing them and the authorities will lose their potential future leverage. Another way to look at it is you aren't, but should you come to the right peoples attention, they'll figure out how to bend the rules enough so that you are. No way of really knowing until laws are rolled back, simplified, and followed both from within the confines of the letter of the law and the spirit thereof.
  - einhverfr 13y ago
    Almost. They aren't discrete things. They need to be laws that can be stretched to include everyone. That way it doesn't actually matter what you do.
- alan_cx 13y ago