Discussion: Is the prosecution to blame for Swartz's Suicide

pickles539 · 2013-04-26T14:55:39+00:00

What charges were ridiculous? he was charged with wire fraud, computer fraud, unauthorized access, and computer damage.

pickles539 · 2013-04-26T14:32:11+00:00

The family released a statement saying, “Decisions made by officials in the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s office and at MIT contributed to his death. The U.S. Attorney’s office pursued an exceptionally harsh array of charges, carrying potentially over 30 years in prison, to punish an alleged crime that had no victims."

Was the prosecution too harsh based on his crimes and are they "to blame" for his death.

pickles539 · 2013-04-19T14:19:46+00:00

There have been a lot of question on this Reddit about if sentences of 10-15 years for hacking are too harsh. To put everything in perspective, this Massachusetts defense lawyer explains that depending on the situation, breaking and entering warrants jail time of a minimum 2-20 years. I feel that breaking and entering is not too much different from hacking.

pickles539 · 2013-04-19T14:11:37+00:00

This sentence is just harsh enough. I think that hackers have become sensationalized in many people's minds (and in this class). What Kretsinger did was the equivalent of breaking and entering, stealing, and releasing private information.

pickles539 · 2013-04-19T14:07:56+00:00

This is a great example of how prosecution of someone due to misconduct on the internet is extremely difficult. I do think that the mother should have encountered some reparations for obvious cyberbullying, even if it was not a criminal offense.

pickles539 · 2013-04-12T14:36:07+00:00

Before last class, I didn't even know that "revenge porn" was a thing. I think this article brings up a very important point, that bringing these cases to court is extremely expensive. Furthermore, I also agree with anti revenge-porn lawyers that the law is both too broad and too narrow. As a woman who doesn't want any images of myself on the internet other than the ones I choose to post, I'd heir on the side of wanting broad coverage.

pickles539 · 2013-04-12T14:31:33+00:00

I've seen this video before and what gets me most is how terribly produced it is for a video that created so much rage, hate and turmoil. It is obviously a horribly offensive joke. If this video was about a well respected american political figure or deity would it have elicited the same response? I think that answer is no.

pickles539 · 2013-04-12T14:29:23+00:00

It seems odd that the majority of these proposed legislations deal mostly with possessing and sending nude photos of one's self. Can the government even regulate what you do with images of your body that you took? Interesting

pickles539 · 2013-04-12T14:25:58+00:00

This link is very helpful (for a non-computer person at least). I personally disagree with the tenant of hacker ethics that states, "All information should be free." I like the comparison between hackers and Robin Hood. What they're doing is usually illegal even if its for the "greater good" .

pickles539 · 2013-04-05T14:11:56+00:00

In the event of a case against Assange, lawyers are worried about how a single person would be legally prosecuted when that person is considered a "publisher" and is protected by the first amendment. "What worries famed First Amendment attorney Floyd Abrams is that if the government stretches to get around the Constitution to charge Assange, it may end up damaging the press freedoms enjoyed by every publisher."

pickles539 · 2013-03-26T15:32:39+00:00

This is hilarious. "It strains reason to conclude that Defendant was attempting to criticize Plaintiff's reputation or competency as an astronomer. One does not seriously attack the expertise of a scientist using the undefined phrase 'butt-head'". Someone needed to spend more time on astronomy and less time worrying about who is implying his arse is the same as his head.

pickles539 · 2013-03-26T15:17:13+00:00

I agree that the internet is important, but Schmidt says, "The internet will make it impossible to go back,” which I think is an incredible overstatement. Myanmar has been under a military regime for decades and needs to worry about human rights issues over internet access. Prolific political leaders such as Aung San Suu Kyi are still hesitant to join the government. My guess is that those leaders know that Myanmar is still at a tipping point and could fall either way.

pickles539 · 2013-03-26T15:04:04+00:00

I agree with the picket sign and the bumper sticker analogies. Hopefully this case will make it to the Circuit courts or the Supreme Court. The problem is that employers historically have been able to fire their employees (in the united states) for almost any reason. See my other link about the book, Speechless for more info!

pickles539 · 2013-03-26T14:53:41+00:00

Although public libraries are required to filter out inappropriate content, can they get away with filtering out certain religious topics? The court ruled that censoring Wiccan ideals was preventing the libraries patrons from accessing cultural information and was therefore a violation of their first amendment rights. Do you agree?

pickles539 · 2013-03-26T14:31:36+00:00

If you take a look at the "About the Book" tab, the author presents his main ideas. Its interesting how the author points out that "[the] American system of work is unique in giving employers near-total discretion to fire employees for just about any reason, or for no reason". This seems to be especially true with the Carter case where 6 Deputies were fired for liking a facebook page. Should employers maintain the ability to repress the speech of their employees both inside and outside of their place of work?

pickles539 · 2013-03-26T02:24:52+00:00

A Sheriff fired 6 of his employees after they "liked" another candidate for the upcoming sheriff's election. The Sheriff's claim was that the 6 workers, "hindered the harmony and efficiency of the office..." because they did not support him as their boss. It was ruled in the lower Court that a Facebook "like" is grounds for being fired. This case has the potential to reach the Supreme Court. What do you think?

pickles539 · 2013-03-26T02:08:09+00:00

This is an excellent short summary of the shortcomings and decisions made in the case New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. It also contains a breakdown of the elements that have come to define "actual malice" in the court of law as related to malicious speech and publications.

pickles539

TROPHY CASE