DiscussMormonism.com

MySpace suit challenges 'fake' online conduct
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24670474/

Prosecutors alleged that by helping create a MySpace account in the name of someone who didn't exist, Lori Drew, 49, violated the News Corp.-owned site's terms of service and thus illegally accessed protected computers.

Good thing Shady Acres has no such terms.

My favorite part:

"I think the danger of applying a statute in this way is that it could have unintended consequences," said John Palfrey, a Harvard law professor who leads a MySpace-convened task force on Internet safety.

"An application of a general statute like this might result in chilling a great deal of online speech and other freedom."

In short, the reason this happened is because people wanted Lori Drew to pay for the psychological torture she inflicted on a child that led to that child's suicide. As much as I feel we should protect children, sometimes we go too far. I think this is an excellent example.

Trevor wrote:In short, the reason this happened is because people wanted Lori Drew to pay for the psychological torture she inflicted on a child that led to that child's suicide. As much as I feel we should protect children, sometimes we go too far. I think this is an excellent example.

Yes, I agree.

I hope the laws are being updated so that we can punish people on the real issue instead of creatively interpreting law.

By the way, I tend to believe that people should be able to be mean to each other so long as it does not done to incite others to violence or suicide, so long as it does not constitute harassment, and so long as it isn't an adult messing with a child. I don't think I should be held responsible for someone committing suicide if I tell them that I think they're ugly, stinky, weird, a loner, a loser, etc.