The sheer number of idiotic things going on here is astounding. If ignorance of the law is no excuse in committing a crime, isn’t ignorance of technology in arresting someone for using technology you don’t understand while not committing a crime even worse?
On Friday, EFF and the law firm of Fish and Richardson filed an emergency motion to quash and for the return of seized property on behalf of a Boston College computer science student whose computers, cell phone, and other property were seized as part of an investigation into who sent an e-mail to a school mailing list identifying another student as gay. The problem? Not only is there no indication that any crime was committed, the investigating officer argued that the computer expertise of the student itself supported a finding of probable cause to seize the student’s property.
[…]
Aside from the remarkable overreach by campus and state police in trying to paint a student as suspicious in part because he can navigate a non-Windows computer environment, nothing cited in the warrant application could possibly constitute the cited criminal offenses. There are no assertions that a commercial (i.e. for pay) commercial service was defrauded, a necessary element of any “Obtaining computer services by Fraud or Misrepresentation” allegation. Similarly, the investigating officer doesn’t explain how sending an e-mail to a campus mailing list might constitute “unauthorized access to a computer system.”
On a vaguely related topic, your company’s website will destroy your life and your dog’s life and your Aunt Tilly’s goldfish’s life if you don’t buy this guy’s package, whatever it is. As he says, “Let me show you how dead serious I am.” And he means it!
Both found by Brother Uncle Don who is now too terrified to turn on his computer anymore because he knows how to use command prompts.
Problem is the legislators are just this technologically ignorant. Hopefully these dinosaurs will die off soon…
Well, I guess that’ll teach ‘im! How dare he know more than your average dummy!
Honestly, what does a photo of Himmler and SS officers has to do with this post? These men perpetrated genocide and great horrors against millions of innocents. I would think NAZI images should be reserved for something a bit more serious.
Microsoft gives you Windoze:
Linux gives you the whole house.
I am so screwed. First, I’m labeled as an extremist this week and now my skills on several operating systems give the government the right to seize my equipment.
You people only thought this kind of shit happened under the Bush administration….
No, it’s endemic to all our lawmakers and law enforcement officials.
Sad to watch our rights circle the drain.
c:\we’re fucked
I saw this article before it posted here and sent it to my friend. He and I came to the same conclusion: if that’s what they think, we’re “Master Criminals” because we’ve both actually had multiple operating systems on a single machine (multiple windows and linux on one machine). Now if they consider the windows command prompt a second operating system maybe they’ll think that multiple desktops, like in linux, would be even more multiples.
“Oh my, this guy has 4 desktops and command prompts in each: GET HIM!”
The eeePC is the new super hacker hardware! Well, at least the one with Linux installed on it anyway.
Oh, one last thing. I’m taking Boston College off my list of schools my children will be allowed to attend. Obviously, the staff allowing this debacle to occur has a horrible understanding of technology and their Computer Science Department should have already been out in force debunking this farce.
Legal Disclaimer: In no way, either myself or my ‘friend’, condone illegal activities. Phew, got that out of the way.
Should title the picture, “The Boys From Ubantu”
😉
When I originally read the story in the Boston Globe they mentioned he was being investigated for changing his grades and sending the email.Has the part about changing grades been dropped?
Paddy you ignorant troll, “The Boys From Ubuntu” (I fixed your spelling, moran) should obviously be communists not fascists.
#10 I see you got up on the wrong side of the straight jacket this am.
LOL
Maybe it’s the first step towards the world of “Harrison Bergeron”. We should be all equals to the lowest level.
A great example why Old Farts should not be allowed to govern. Let them run free in the suburbs where society stagnates/regresses. 😛
the excerpts from the warrant application are hilarious.
Good Lord. My eight year old has a Linux computer…I must be raising criminals.
😛
If anyone would read the search warrant application, the student running linux was getting bad-mouthed by his roommate after they had a “domestic dispute.”
His real problem is that they have him dead to rights with network logs for sending an email to all of BC that his roommate was gay. In addition, they have him creating a phony profile on a gay personals site with his roommate’s picture. He tried to cover his trail in both cases and failed miserably.
His having done this lends credence to his roommate’s accusations of piracy, grade changing, etc. Unfortunately, the officer who wrote things up didn’t make it clear that he wasn’t describing a suspicious act (using the command line), but rather describing a computer for inclusion in the warrant (by its characteristic of having a black screen with white text).
Will the suspect be able to sue his roommate for libel and/or filing a phony police report? Hopefully. But his initial stupidity (which caused this) is his fault.
I can’t believe the police actually said “a black screen with white letters” in the report. If it wasn’t so sad it would be funny.
Why do you guys support hatred?
And I wonder what they would do, IF’ I explained how to Shuffle and put your photos in order the EASY way with windows and 2 open Windows..
#19,
NOT hatred..
Idiotocrity, Ignorance, stupidity, THOSE in charge that have enough intelligence to turn on the computer and NOT much else, but are willing to regulate HOW MUCH knowledge you SHOULD HAVE..
(we wont go into MS OS architecture/design)
Only that my brother is wrong: I use a Mac with it’s GUI, not Linux.
Haven’t used the command prompt for anything in years.
#22 you’re missing such great pleasures. GUIs are for people who don’t know what they’re doing 😉
Fish and Richardson – good firm. Very smart on the computer/technology front. Good people to have on your corner in this sort of thing.
It’s funny how I don’t recall “having book smarts” as a tangible element for probable cause for a seizure. Perhaps I missed that case, Commonwealth v. Dr. Smartypants.
Mass. colleges aren’t big on free speech.
Not to sound like some sort of spell checker or anything, but y’all need to learn how to spell MORON rather than MORAN. The former is an unintelligent person. The latter was Richie Cunningham’s sister on “Happy Days”.
a.
Sheesh, what a lot of hot air over calling someone gay. Anyone would think it’s an insult.
#3 – Well it sure looks like a young George Bush Senior is in the background.
Its probably just his grandfather dropping off a check for a few million to Hitler.
That was the Kennedys.
#26: So, you don’t know the Interwebitube meme, moran? Google it.
Pointing out that someone is gay or homosexual, shouldn’t be a crime. Especially since so many gays want to get married and receive benefits, just because they are gay. And they got this chip on their shoulder about it.
But it should be a crime to encourage or induce any retaliations against gays on some list. Apparently, some closet gays in local government, are concerned their names might end up on some list (becoming blacklisted), if they allowed such lists to ever exist. But this should be a violation of Freedom of Speech rights. They have lists of freed Sexual Offenders, to protect kids from those who served their time, but may not have reformed (seems unfair to always assume they haven’t). But not allow lists of gays, who might end up as Judges, who decide sexual perversion cases. Cause they might not be voted into office, by the major of people, who aren’t gay. Got to protect the careers of this crummy 3%, against the concerns of the 97%.
Wow! I wish there was similar legal concern about preserving the jobs of the rest of us straights!
Tell a lie a thousand times and it becomes the truth. – Joseph Goebbels