In today's world of spyware, social networking services, and numerous other technological threats to privacy, it's hard not to leave tracks on the Internet. But now, trying to use the Internet anonymously may be a crime.
Exhibit 1 is Lori Drew. If you haven't heard of her, that's understandable. But in the online world, Lori Drew is famous.
In 2006, Drew, assisted by at least one accomplice, created an account on the popular MySpace social networking Web site. She created the account in the name of a 16-year-old boy, calling herself "Josh Evans." "Josh" then initiated an online romance with 13-year-old Megan Meier. However, Drew allegedly targeted Meier through her younger, male alter ego because the young woman had made unflattering statements about Drew's daughter Sarah.
For a few weeks, "Josh" and Megan exchanged increasingly affectionate messages. But in October 2006, "Josh" sent Megan a message that read, "I don't want to be friends with you anymore because you're not nice to your friends." Later, "Josh" wrote Megan, "The world would be a better place without you."
Those messages might seem innocuous enough. Teenagers (and adults for that matter) are always insulting one another. But members of social networking services may have a network of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of online "friends." These individuals can often read postings intended for other friends. As a result, the messages led many of "Josh's" and even Megan's friends to unleash a torrent of insulting messages to Megan. Allegedly, that's what Drew wanted. But she surely didn't anticipate what happened next.
On Oct. 15, 2006, Megan hanged herself in her bedroom closet. She was pronounced dead the next day.
Megan's parents naturally blamed "Josh"—in reality, a 48-year-old woman—for the death of their daughter. And, once prosecutors were able to track MySpace records to connect Josh to Lori Drew, they began building a case against her.
The jury at Drew's trial in November 2008 convicted her of three misdemeanor counts of computer fraud. The basis of the fraud? Violating MySpace's terms of service, which require that users be "truthful and accurate" when registering. Therefore, prosecutors could interpret the false profile as "Unauthorized Access." This violated a 1986 computer fraud law.
Drew is appealing the verdict. But as the law now stands, if you violate a Web site's terms of service by registering under a fake name, you may be committing a crime. And while Lori Drew should be held accountable for her actions, making Internet anonymity illegal surely qualifies as an unanticipated—and unjustified—result of her conviction.
Copyright © 2008 by Mark Nestmann
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