15 years?? for installing a program?

Article:		Use P2P, Go to Jail. Any Questions?
Subject:		15 years?? for installing a program?
Date:		2001-07-11 04:56:31
From:		sker

OMG, this is so insane!! Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I think the real reason for prosecuting McOwen is to halt the advance of p2p applications in general. P2p apps like freehaven and freenet pose serious threats for the investigative capabilities of law enforcement agencies. Since it's hard to ban p2p applications because of the first amendment , they attack p2p from a whole other angle: the economic angle. Making it illegal to install a client because it consumes bandwidth will effectively 'kill' all Napster's, Gnutella's, Publius'es and other p2p apps out there. Any1 agree? greetz, el $ker, a worried student. I'm a dutch law student, so correct me if I'm wrong; but this is freedom of speech right?

Showing messages 1 through 1 of 1.

15 years?? for installing a program?
2001-07-11 14:20:32 Shelley Powers | [Reply | View]

David wasn't charged because he installed a specific type of software -- he was charged because he installed the software illegally, without permission, and left a door open -- albeit with no intent to harm. It's not the software, it's the action that's being charged.