Teenage jounralist could get 15 years in jail for online protest.

[evilneko]

DDOSing sites is neither some grand form of protest nor is it trying to do good. It's little more than criminal mischief and at times, an attempt at extortion.

 

[viranimus]

15 years is a slap on the wrist. It should be the death penalty because we must set an example of what occurs when you interrupt the flow of profits to your corporate overlords.

/end sarcasm.

I ... I seriously lack the words of how astronomically ignorant and shameful this is.

This is definitely a "I dont want to live on this planet any more.: type moment.

 

[Aris Khandr]

How does one protest an internet-based company's activities?
People lie in front of a bulldozer or chain themselves to trees - impeding work flow using non-violent means that likely cost the company both time and money
You cannot physically impede Paypal's activities as there is no physical movement to impede.
Sure one can find the company's servers and disable them but that results in dozens of crimes that by any objective viewpoint cannot be construed as reasonable. The most logical form of getting an online company's attention and protesting their activities is to interrupt them without causing permanent damage to anything. To my knowledge a DDoS 'attack' is the only way to protest in a manner akin to what people do in the physical world.

If there had been information stolen or all payments redirected to her bank account then we would clearly have a criminal. As it stands the laws in place governing the internet are insufficient and fail to account for all potential situations. Many of the lawmakers in power today do not understand the internet as it is today and it will be a long time before internet law is all encompassing.

The same way you protest a non-internet-based company. You make others aware of what they are doing, and boycott them. If you have a problem with Disney, you don't get to keep the animators from going to work. And that tree example? The police get bolt cutters, cut your stupid self off, and arrest you. Same for the bulldozer. All of that is illegal, despite what TV would have you believe.

 

[Soushi]

15 years? Seriously? I mean, I was at odds with Anonymous' methods most of the time, but come the fuck on. All she did was bring a site down for a while, which is, quite frankly, absolutely meaningless. No personal information was stolen, the site wasn't brought down permanently, it was just some dumbass DDoS thing. Whoopdefuckingdoo. The potential sentence is outrageous.

That's what happens when you have an organization like the FBI and the US department of justice who think that they have some reputation to uphold. The war against anonymous has been an utter disaster, with very few arrests and almost zero progress being made. The FBI and most other anti-crime organizations around the world are extremely weak compared to Anonymous and their resources. They are looking to catch and punish someone, anyone who they can get their hands on. Yes, it is outrageous, but as long as someone gets punished, justice is a secondary concern. They are willing to look totally tyrannical if it means they don't look utterly useless.

 

[viranimus]

Im confused. How is this even possible because it is an unlawful arrest.

She is charged with

"conspiracy to commit Intentional Damage to a Protected Computer" and for alleged damage caused by the attack."

When even if she is guilty of assisting in those attacks because No damage was actually done to ANY computer involved nor any damage done to the companies in question

If ANY company is the "victim" of a DDoS attack it is their own fault because they have not prepared to meet a massive influx of data demand. This is like attaching a manslaughter charge on someone goes into a butcher shop, buys out all the meat, and wants to buy even more. It is not the hackers fault. Its the website administrators fault for failure to anticipate peak demand.

Its hard to not get worked up over things like this, even knowing that basically everyone that has been arrested thus far as it relates to these hacks has been caught and released because the charges will not stick because the charges arent even for the alleged "crimes" comitted.

You dont get to charge someone with a charge just because its the closest thing to what they are being accused of.

This really bothers me to no end. Theres so many problems with the world right now and a lot of them come back to the same thing that runs as an undercurrent to this issue. For far too long we have given our corporations entirely too much rights, profits and power. THey abuse this power and are now so powerful that they are using our governments to solidify their power, and the absolutely disgusting part of it is the fact that the regular people getting stepped on by this, are also some of the loudest to scream out in defense of this.

This can only keep going for so long. Something eventually has got to give.

 

[Hatter]

"If you can't do the time, then don't do the crime" comes to mind.

Personally, I support vigilante justice, as long as it is "just". She should have accepted the risks before doing what she did.

 

[thefrizzlefry]

15 years? Seriously? I mean, I was at odds with Anonymous' methods most of the time, but come the fuck on. All she did was bring a site down for a while, which is, quite frankly, absolutely meaningless. No personal information was stolen, the site wasn't brought down permanently, it was just some dumbass DDoS thing. Whoopdefuckingdoo. The potential sentence is outrageous.

That's what happens when you have an organization like the FBI and the US department of justice who think that they have some reputation to uphold. The war against anonymous has been an utter disaster, with very few arrests and almost zero progress being made. The FBI and most other anti-crime organizations around the world are extremely weak compared to Anonymous and their resources. They are looking to catch and punish someone, anyone who they can get their hands on. Yes, it is outrageous, but as long as someone gets punished, justice is a secondary concern. They are willing to look totally tyrannical if it means they don't look utterly useless.

So, they're looking to avoid seeming useless by dishing out unnecessarily harsh punishments to 15 random members of a loose collective with tens if not hundreds of thousands of members? That just makes them see even MORE desperate and useless.

 

[Shivarage]

She's not even a journalist, she's just a person doing nothing as far as the real world goes

"studying" doesn't mean anything of value is being done

 

[Esotera]

How the fuck can Rupert Murdoch get away with his shit, but this girl has to be pursued cause she broke the law? Bull. Fucking. Shit.

I think you've answered your own question.

15 years is definitely too harsh for what it is, but sentencing of computer criminals is typically very light. I'd be surprised if she got a prison sentence for any longer than 2 years, especially as it's probably her first offence.

Also DDOSing =/= hacking.

 

[Esotera]

This can only keep going for so long. Something eventually has got to give.

If Anonymous and the rest of the bored teenage kids keep doing what they are right now, it's going to be net neutrality.

 

[Sougo]

Norwegian mass murderer faces 21 years in prison for killing ~90 ppl in including minors.

American woman faces upto 15 years for ... temporarily bringing down a website.

Facepalms all round.

 

[Booradlee]

Even though 15 years is a little steep she was still wrong. What she did wasn't an online protest, a protest is peaceful and it gets your word across without hindering the operations of whoever your protesting against. What she did was more in lines of a riot, attacking private corporations and hindering their operations because of their own private choices.

Okay, first a peaceful protest is a lot less common then you make it sound. Not that long ago the only protests were called 'riots' which you seem to think are different.
This will sound more biased then I wanted to sound, but I doubt anyone was hurt during her 'protest'.

Second, protesting does attack the private corporation, and hinders their operations a lot. Have you ever walked past a group of protesters to buy a meal? Have you walked past a group chanting just so you can buy something they were currently protesting? Do you know ANYBODY who has? Protesters influence business a lot.
To walk past a protester and buy something is a very strong statement.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

As other postsers have mentioned, you skewed the facts OP

And two, DDoS attacks are not "peaceful". If I have a problem with, say, CNN, I will spread the word. I cannot weld their doors shut.

 

[Booradlee]

How does one protest an internet-based company's activities?
People lie in front of a bulldozer or chain themselves to trees - impeding work flow using non-violent means that likely cost the company both time and money

The same way you protest a non-internet-based company. You make others aware of what they are doing, and boycott them. If you have a problem with Disney, you don't get to keep the animators from going to work. And that tree example? The police get bolt cutters, cut your stupid self off, and arrest you. Same for the bulldozer. All of that is illegal, despite what TV would have you believe.

Fair enough, bolt cutters, arrest, illegal, TV, bad.

Got it.

How many nights does the usually protester spend in jail after they chained themselves a tree?

I'm not saying they shouldn't be punished. But 102 Weeks without a family dinner seems a little much.


p.s. During the writers strike a few years ago many animators (among others) were unable to 'go to work.' I still think it was a very peaceful protest.
The worlds not as rainbow happy as you make it sound.

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

She, and others, hacked into, and temporarily suspended, numerous multi-million dollar credit related companies solely because they terminated support to WikiLeaks. That is hardly a "peaceful protest" and liable to have cost them a significant financial loss. It does not help matters WikiLeaks is widely regarded as a controversial conspiracy website.

Frankly, good, she deserves potential jail time for committing a felony. Another concern for her is the possibility of getting sued into oblivious regardless of her sentence. No, she will not receive fifteen years however I would not be surprised by a verdict of four, out in less than a year based on good behavior. It may not be 'fair' in comparison to other more heinous crimes but she isn't the innocent little do-gooder the OP is attempting to insinuate.

 

[MurderousToaster]

Oh wow. I don't think the OP even read the article he's posted.

The protest - "peaceful"? No. DDoS attacks are not peaceful.

The sentence - Up to 15 years. Up to. 15 years is the maximum sentence.

The "teenager" - 20.

 

[DrOswald]

I would say that this could be considered a "peaceful" protest, but it is still illegal, caused significant financial loss, and we can hardly say the cause was noble. She deserves it.

 

[viranimus]

This is definitely a "I dont want to live on this planet any more.: type moment.

How about you actually read the article instead of listening to the OPs blatent bullshit before you jump off that bridge.

I didnt even read the Original post considering the only real content from it came in the form of the link. I am referring specifically to the article in question. The article that specifically indicates that the FBI made a false arrest based on something that was not illegal and charged her with something that is not even related to what she is accused of because no laws fit the situation and it was "as close as they could get" And I dont want to have to deal with this garbage when I watch an arm of the US government breaks one of its own tenants of barring cruel and unusual punishment in defense of corporations who cry falsely that they have been victimized so the government will step in and enact measures that protect corporate interests over the rights of the people and individuals.

And the real reason I dont want to deal with this garbage is not that it happens, but the fact that defiantly ignorant people will throw themselves under busses to defend these corporations. Its sort of like stabbing the eye of the cop who is trying to pull a rapist off of you.