No. A protection racket (extortion) is when a perp threatens, or at least hints, that he or his friends will harm the victim or his property unless he obeys orders.
This perp is only threatening to leave information up on his web site until paid to take it down. Hence, blackmail.
It seems to me that the court is conflating two issues here.
In the judge's shoes, I would rule that Section 230 protects the posting of the images themselves (unless it were shown that they pose an ongoing danger to someone's health or life, which would justify a takedown order). But even if posting the images and information is legal, requiring a payment to take them down is blackmail, and Bollaert should go to prison for that crime. 18 years seems overboard, though. Two or three years should be enough to deter this crime.
Don't get me wrong, I would prefer doxing someone without cause to be more broadly illegal, but that would require constitutional change. The 1st Amendment forbids it.
The law ought to require that every system that allows this type of purchase, also enable the device owner to password-protect against ANY purchase. The problem is not just Amazon; it's Android, iOS, and probably all their competitors and most of the apps on them. I've also experienced it with Dish Network. A system set up in the hope of causing accidental purchases is a case of open-and-shut fraud.
... was not merely killing the messenger. The Adblock people need to know what their opponents are up to, so that they can continue to defeat their attempts to circumvent blocking.
If Silicon Valley were to make a magic backdoor that only opened for the good guys with pure intentions, the government wouldn't be able to access it anyway, so I'm not sure why they're pushing for it.
Why does this make "Sleeping Beauty does Anal" pop into my head?
Re: Re: "probable cause" is a lot tougher than "relevant"
As far as I'm concerned the standard should be what they could have seen in 1800. In other words, any capabilities from tech newer than the Bill of Rights should be denied to police by default unless they get a warrant. (And banned to private snoops as well.)
The way the law is written today, possession is a felony, period. Intent is not required. If some hacker in Russia thinks it's funny to write a virus that loads child porn on your computer and then calls the cops on you, you're a felon.
If the appeals courts had any humanity at all, they'd change that and require proof of intent for any felony conviction. (And put some teeth in the 8th Amendment, so prosecutors couldn't just force you to confess by threatening you with life-without-parole if you go to trial.) But so far, the Supreme Court continues to have a majority of monsters on it.
If government "invests" (actually forces you and me to invest OUR money) in anything, it means no one was willing to invest his own. If it were a worthwhile investment that would not need to happen.
And the cities don't even like the fact that the app helps you pay tickets on time. For the same reason. The harder they can make the process, the more late fees they rake in. Ka-Ching!
This is a wonderful victory for liberty over regulation. But the authors should have credited the Institute for Justice (ij.org), which won the case for the victim.
On the post: Copyright As Censorship: Questionable Copyright Claim Forces Indie Musician To Destroy All Physical Copies Of New Album
Speaking of Weird Al...
On the post: Revenge Porn Creep Kevin Bollaert's Appeal Underway... And Actually Raises Some Important Issues
Re:
This perp is only threatening to leave information up on his web site until paid to take it down. Hence, blackmail.
On the post: Revenge Porn Creep Kevin Bollaert's Appeal Underway... And Actually Raises Some Important Issues
It seems to me that the court is conflating two issues here.
Don't get me wrong, I would prefer doxing someone without cause to be more broadly illegal, but that would require constitutional change. The 1st Amendment forbids it.
On the post: Redaction Failure In FTC/Amazon Decision Inadvertently Allows Public To See Stuff It Should Have Been Able To See Anyway
It's about time!
On the post: Let's All Talk About The Stuff That UC Davis Spent $175k Trying To Keep Off These Internets
Re: Oops nearly forgot!!!
On the post: PayPal Continues To Drive People To Bitcoin And Other Solutions As It Starts Cutting Off VPNs & Open Internet Solutions
What we need is another service like PayPal ...
On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
Banning Adblock from attending that conference...
On the post: Why Is The Federal Government Shutting Down A CES Booth Over A Patent Dispute?
How can this thing work?
On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
Things you can't un-read
Why does this make "Sleeping Beauty does Anal" pop into my head?
On the post: Techdirt Reading List: The Little Book Of Plagiarism
Plagiarism does violate the law, even in the US:
On the post: YouTube Puts Some Monetary Weight Behind Fighting For Fair Use: Others Should Too
I'll believe they mean it...
On the post: Bill Adding A Warrant Requirement For Aerial Surveillance Introduced In The House
Re: Re: "probable cause" is a lot tougher than "relevant"
On the post: Bill Adding A Warrant Requirement For Aerial Surveillance Introduced In The House
This one is H.R. 3962.
On the post: 'Hundreds' Of Teens Found Sexting At A Single School And Everyone Seems Unsure Of How To Proceed
Re: Re: Dumbest Law award
If the appeals courts had any humanity at all, they'd change that and require proof of intent for any felony conviction. (And put some teeth in the 8th Amendment, so prosecutors couldn't just force you to confess by threatening you with life-without-parole if you go to trial.) But so far, the Supreme Court continues to have a majority of monsters on it.
On the post: Sorry Net Neutrality Chicken Littles, Title II & Net Neutrality Still Haven't Hurt Broadband Investment In The Slightest
Re: Re: Well, you see...
On the post: Sorry Net Neutrality Chicken Littles, Title II & Net Neutrality Still Haven't Hurt Broadband Investment In The Slightest
The author of this piece must be psychic...
On the post: Kim Davis's Approach To Email More Outdated Than Her Views On Marriage
Re: WWJD?
On the post: Kim Davis's Approach To Email More Outdated Than Her Views On Marriage
On the post: 3 California Cities Blocking Parking Ticket App For Being, Like, Way Too Useful
On the post: Court Tells State Psychology Board It Can't Use Its Powers To Regulate Protected Speech
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