Deck 22: Corporations

Question 1

Anthony Davis operated a computer bulletin board system that permitted users to send and receive e-mail, access the Internet, and download software. Davis's system had one attribute that distinguished it from, say, AOL. It specialized in pornography. Alerted by an anonymous tip, the Oklahoma City Police Department obtained a warrant to search his premises for "equipment, order materials, papers, membership lists and other paraphernalia pertaining to the distribution or display of pornographic material." During their raid, the officers seized computer equipment that contained 150,000 e-mails in electronic storage, some of which had not been retrieved by the recipients. Alleging that the e-mails had not been included in the warrant, Davis filed suit against the police officers for violations of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. Does Davis have a valid claim?

Answer 1

The computer equipment seized by the police was not just a container for the e-mails; it was also instrumental in the crimes that Davis was guilty for. The computer equipment that happened to also contain the e-mails was used to distribute and display pornographic materials, so the seizure of said equipment and the information it contained is legal and valid according to the warrant.
The actions of the police officers do not violate the Electronic Communications Privacy Act because they were relying on a valid warrant in their seizure of the equipment that incidentally contained the e-mails.

Question 2

What can you do to protect your privacy online? Draw up a concrete list of steps that you might reasonably consider. Are there some actions that you would not be willing to take because they are not worth it to you?

Answer 2

The following precautions can be taken to protect the computer from viruses and simultaneously ensure safety of the users credentials over the internet.
• Be careful about furnishing personal information and make sure to read and understand a website's privacy policy before the disclosure. Beware online promotions and contests that ask for personal information.
• Do not send any personal information (name, address, phone number, credit card number, etc.) over a public network. Avoid signing into websites that require a password because people could be monitoring the information you send over the unsecured network.
• Update passwords between your various e-mail addresses, online banking accounts, and social media accounts.
• Make sure to log out of your accounts when you use any kind of public computer.
• Install anti-virus and anti-spyware software and make sure it is up-to-date.
• Monitor the cookies stored on your computer. Some are beneficial, but many are used to monitor your activities and supply that information to marketers. You can edit your cookies through your web browser.
• Before you buy a product or service online with a credit card, make sure the connection is secure or encrypted. If the URL address line has a lock icon or the address begins with https://, it is secure.
• Use a browser that has a private browsing function or make sure to delete online history frequently.

Question 3

Craig Hare offered computers and related equipment for sale on various Internet auction Web sites. He accepted payment but not responsibility-he never shipped the goods. Both the FTC and the U.S. attorney general in Florida (that is, the prosecutor for the federal government) brought charges against him. What charges did they bring? Why would these two separate agencies of the federal government both bring suit?

Answer 3

The FTC filed a civil suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida accusing Craig Lee Hare of violating the sections 5
(a) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45
(a), and the FTC's "Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule" 16 C.F.R. Part 435 by offering computers and computer-related equipment for sale on various Internet auction web sites, accepting payment and failing to deliver the goods. Hare was banned from using the Internet to advertise, market or otherwise offer for sale any goods or services.
The U.S. attorney general in Florida charged Hare with wire fraud for offering computers and computer-related equipment for sale on various Internet auction web sites, accepting payment and failing to deliver the goods. Hare was sentenced to six months home detention and three year probation, and ordered to pay approximately $22,000 in restitution.
The FTC brought a bring civil case against Hare under §5 of the FTC act while the U.S. attorney general brought criminal fraud charges, which is why he was charged by two separate federal agencies.

Question 4

ROLE REVERSAL Write a short-answer question that deals with an issue involving crime in cyberspace.

Question 5

ETHICS Matt Drudge published a report on his website (http://www.drudgereport.com) that White House aide Sidney Blumenthal "has a spousal abuse past that has been effectively covered up….There are court records of Blumenthal's violence against his wife." The Drudge Report is an electronic publication focusing on Hollywood and Washington gossip. AOL paid Drudge $3,000 a month to make the Drudge Report available to AOL subscribers. Drudge emailed his reports to AOL, which then posted them. Before posting, however, AOL had the right to edit content. Drudge ultimately retracted his allegations against Blumenthal, who sued AOL. He alleged that under the Communications Decency Act of 1996, AOL was a "content provider" because it paid Drudge and edited what he wrote. Do you agree? Putting liability aside, what moral obligation did AOL have to its members? To Blumenthal? Should AOL be liable for content it bought and provided to its members?

Question 6

The FTC offers advice to Web site operators about how to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act at http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/privacyinitiatives/childrens.html. Choose a Web site and evaluate whether or not it complies with the statute.

Question 7

YOU BE THE JUDGE WRITING PROBLEM Jerome Schneider wrote several books on how to avoid taxes. These books were sold on Amazon.com. Amazon permits visitors to post comments about items for sale. Amazon's policy suggests that these comments should be civil (e.g., no profanity or spiteful remarks). The comments about Schneider's books were not so kind. One person alleged Schneider was a felon. When Schneider complained, an Amazon representative agreed that some of the postings violated its guidelines and promised that they would be removed within one to two business days. Two days later, the posting had not been removed. Schneider filed suit. Argument for Schneider: Amazon has editorial discretion over the posted comments. It both establishes guidelines and then monitors the comments to ensure that they comply with the guidelines. These activities make Amazon an information content provider, not protected by the Communications Decency Act. Also, Amazon violated its promise to take down the content. Argument for Amazon: The right to edit material is not the same thing as creating the material in the first place.

Question 8

The Web site http://www.onguardonline.gov provides suggestions on how you can protect yourself against Internet fraud. Have you ever violated this advice?

Question 9

During the course of 10 months, Joseph Melle sent more than 60 million unsolicited e-mail advertisements to AOL members. What charges could be brought against him?