Content- related Offenses The dissemination , especially via the Internet, of pornography (in particular child pornography), racist statements, and information inciting violence raises the question as to what extent these acts could be confronted with the help of criminal law. The laws support the view that what is illegal off-line should also be illegal online. The author or the content provider may be liable under criminal law. Hate Crimes In most countries, hate speech does not receive the same constitutional protection as it does in the United States. In Germany, for example, it is illegal to promote Nazi ideology. In many European countries , it is illegal to deny the reality of the Holocaust. Authorities in Denmark, France, Britain, Germany, and Canada have brought charges for crimes involving hate speech on the Internet. While national borders have little meaning in cyberspace , Internet users who export material that is illegal in some foreign countries may be subject to prosecution under certain circumstances. An American citizen who posts material on the Internet that is illegal in a foreign country could be prosecuted if he subjected himself to the jurisdiction of that country or of another country whose extradition laws would allow for his arrest and deportation. However, under American law, the United States will not extradite a person for engaging in a constitutionally protected activity even if that activity violates a criminal law elsewhere. | An obscenity-tinged e-mail message was received by 107 minority and international students at Manchester College in Indiana, warning them that their "days are numbered." About 700 Asian students at Indiana University in Bloomington the previous year received several e-mail messages laced with racial slurs. The number of computer-related incidents on campuses seems to be growing, but with computers becoming more prevalent in higher education, experts say, e-mail has become the tool of choice for racist activity. A former University of California-Irvine student was convicted of violating the civil rights of a group of Asian students when he sent them e-mail saying he would "kill every one of you." Police investigated but did not pursue the Manchester case because no specific threats were made. However, college president Parker Marden says he will keep searching for the culprit, thought to be a student. [70] | [70] "Police Say Hate E-Mail Didn't Break Any Laws. It Attacked Groups, Not Individuals." The Indianapolis Star/News , 14 March 1998. Harassment Harassment is a methodical, deliberate , and persistent communication that disturbs the recipient. The communications are often constant, filled with disturbing and inappropriate content, and do not cease . There is a clear difference between the annoyance of unsolicited e-mail, instant messages, and other online communications and the consistent, personal nature of harassment. People often don't take reports of online harassment seriously. There's a misconception that online harassment is easily ignored because it happens online. Harassment online is just as illegal as harassment off-line, and it's just as frightening. At times the harassment turns violent. | Carl Edward Johnson, of Saskatchewan, Canada, was convicted on four felony counts of sending threatening e-mail messages via the Internet to federal judges and others. The first three charges were based on death threats posted to the Internet naming two federal judges based in Tacoma and Seattle. The fourth charge was based on an e-mail threat sent directly to Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. The conviction and sentence are the culmination of a two-year investigation by U.S. Treasury agents into anonymous threats posted on the Internet and a scheme to assassinate government officials known as "Assassination Politics." The government was able to identify Johnson as the author of the threatening messages and an Internet assassination web page through a variety of technical means. In the case of the Ninth Circuit judges death threat, Treasury agents were able to link the unique characteristics of an encrypted digital signature on the threatening message to encryption "keys" found on Johnson's computer. [71] | [71] "Man Convicted of Threatening Federal Judges by Internet E-mail," U.S. Department of Justice Press Release , 21 April 1999. Cyber-stalking The rapid growth of the Internet and other telecommunications technologies are promoting advances in virtually every aspect of society and every corner of the globe. Most of these advances represent positive changes in our society. Unfortunately, many of the attributes of this technology ” low cost, ease of use, and anonymous nature, among others ” make it an attractive medium for fraudulent scams, child sexual exploitation, and, increasingly, a new concern known as "cyber-stalking." By the use of new technology and equipment, which cannot be policed by traditional methods , cyber-stalking has replaced traditional methods of stalking and harassment. In addition, cyber-stalking has led to offline incidents of violent crime. There are incidents where it is the individual himself who, having become obsessed, turns violent and there are incidents where the individual has convinced others to perform the violent acts for him. | She was a young, attractive, friendly single clerk. He was an obsessive network administrator with access to the entire company's computer systems. She turned him down; he wouldn't take no for an answer. The side comments, e- mails and creepy looks never stopped . Eventually, he was fired , and that's when the trouble really started. Armed with full knowledge of the company's network, he had little trouble breaking into its computer system from the outside. He assumed several identities and started firing off embarrassing e-mails about her around the firm. He took secret documents and, posing as other company employees , made veiled threats to release the secrets to the public. Meanwhile, he continued to try to get a rise out of the clerk. At one point, he "gave" her a $130,000-a-year raise. Fortunately, he did most of his dirty work sitting behind a computer at his new employer ” and with one e-mail, he made a mistake. "He sent it from his work account rather than an assumed account," said Eric Friedberg, a former prosecutor for the U.S. attorney's office in New York. Armed with that single e-mail, Friedberg went to the suspect's new employer and got the firm's cooperation. Computer logs there provided plenty of evidence, and the suspect has now been indicted. When a firm's internal IT people are involved in harassment, it creates a dangerous combination of skills and access, one Friedberg says he's seen repeatedly ” in large part because many firms give little thought to the tremendous access computer experts have to company information. [72] | [72] Sullivan, Bob, "Cyber-stalking Rears Its Head in the Workplace," ZDNet Australia (www.zdnet.com.au), 1 May 2001. |
