Have You Committed Felony Lately?

Internet users may not be aware that they could be put to jail for falsifying their personal information on the internet. Facebook users, after knowing this, may have to think many times before providing any false information on their account. This may sound absurd, but there have been a number of cases where users were penalized for breach of the terms of use of the websites that they visit.

The U.S. Congress is more likely to expand the scope of laws that pertain to “cybersecurity”. The existence of the so-called Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which was passed in 1986, seems insufficient. This law mainly deals with the provisions that pertain to computer hacking. Since its inception, the law has been periodically broadened, and it now extends far beyond hacking.

One of its provisions is that it is a criminal act for any user to exceed “authorized access”. This means that users must not go beyond the terms and conditions stipulated by the website’s owner. Once this is broken, the user faces a criminal liability, especially if breaking those terms and conditions are committed within an office environment.

This is a revelation to those who intentionally falsify their information for any reason. Social networking users, more often than not, lie about their names and ages. Once put in place, faking would constitute a crime and would be punishable by law. Many users would be facing penalties once Congress approves the consideration of such acts as felony.

There were a few cases in the past that involved ridiculous disputes that were filed by private parties. It was reported that a company owner sued a former employee for visiting Facebook and sending personal emails using the company’s facility. Another ridiculous case involved a company that prohibited competitors from visiting its site. It ended up with the company suing a competitor for breach of its “terms of use”.

Concerned groups suggest that Congress must plainly define those cases that involve crimes. Even if there is a need to take legal action on real offenders, the law has to be humane. No one would want federal courts to be swamped with cases that involved mere violation of a promise.

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