IP Democracy: Tragic Case Could Lead to Very Bad Legal Precedent

Hunting for some way to bring justice in a very sad case, Missouri federal prosecutors in California are seeking to set a very dangerous precedent in Internet law that could make criminals of us all. By way of background, a 47 year-old mother, Lori Drew, along with her teenager daughter and another teenage girl, befriended online a 13 year-old girl Megan Meier of Dardenne Prairie, Missouri by signing up for a MySpace account under the fake identity of a teenage boy "Josh," all in a cruel hoax to hurt Megan.

"Josh" initially flirted with and then rejected Megan, who suffered from clinical depression, ultimately telling her the world would be a better place without her. Twenty minutes after Megan received the devastating message, she committed suicide.

Public outrage demanded that Lori Drew be held accountable for the tragic death, but prosecutors could find no statute that Drew had violated. Yesterday, however, they charged (PDF of indictment) Drew with one count of conspiracy and three violations of the anti-hacking Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. If convicted on all four counts, Drew could spend 20 years in prison.

While most people rightfully have no pity for the adult Drew, and MySpace itself backs the indictment, legal experts say that the novel interpretation of the law would potentially make a felon out of anybody who violates a site's terms of service. How? Prosecutors stake their claim on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act saying that Drew committed "unauthorized access" to MySpace's computers, a felony under the Act, by submitting false information when registering and by soliciting personal information from minors, both of which are barred by MySpace's user agreement.

Experts say that this novel claim, if successful, could be used to argue violations of the Fraud and Abuse Act in other cases where a user violates a site's terms of service. The real problem is that website owners can put anything they want into a terms of service agreement, and most of us don't even bother reading them. How many of us have registered for free email accounts under false information and how many of us know whether or not that deception is a violation of the email provider's agreement?

It's a shame what Drew did and let's hope she and her two accomplices have already paid, and will forever pay, a steep price for their inhuman act. But let's also hope that this case doesn't lay the foundation for making criminals of us all.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on May 16, 2008 9:35 AM to IP Democracy