About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

2009 U. Ill. J.L. Tech. & Pol'y 561 (2009)
"I Agree" to Criminal Liability: Lori Drew's Prosecution under Sec. 1030(A)(2)(C) of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and Why Every Internet User Should Care

handle is hein.journals/jltp2009 and id is 565 raw text is: I AGREE TO CRIMINAL LIABILITY: LORI DREW'S PROSECUTION UNDER §1030(A)(2)(C) OF THE COMPUTER FRAUD AND ABUSE ACT, AND WHY EVERY INTERNET USER SHOULD CARE Nicholas R. Johnson* I. INTRODUCTION Imagine for a second that you are in law school. Your Professional Responsibility class is wearing on, and you cannot resist the temptation to use your laptop to log on to Facebook and update your user profile. Knowing that some employers use Facebook as a means to screen potential employees,I and knowing that taller, good-looking people are statistically likely to earn more money than shorter, less attractive people,2 you decide to do some fudging: You describe yourself on your Facebook profile as 5'9, blue-eyed, and devastatingly handsome, despite the fact that you are really 5'4, brown-eyed, and showing distressingly early signs of male pattern baldness. For emphasis you upload a picture of a young Paul Newman that you found elsewhere on the Internet. Facebook's terms of use prohibit such white lies,3 but you take little notice. Satisfied, you save your changes and return to the class discussion of ABA Model Rule 4.1. Have you just committed a federal crime? As a matter of intuition, most people would say no. But Lori Drew, the Missouri woman accused of creating a fake MySpace profile in order to cyberbully her daughter's former friend, might answer differently. Drew- J.D., University of Illinois College of Law, 2010; B.S., Northwestern University, 2005. I am indebted to William Breedlove and Carol Hayes of the Journal of Law, Technology & Policy for their critical assistance in seeing this piece through to publication. Thanks especially to my parents, whose love and guidance have helped me take every step on this long path toward a fulfilling legal career. 1. Amy S. Clark, Employers Look at Facebook, Too, June 20, 2006, CBS NEWS, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/20/eveningnews/main I 734920.shtml. 2. Martin Wolk, Better Wealthy Than Handsome? Why Not Both?, Apr. 7, 2005, MSNBC, HTrP://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7420983/. 3. See Facebook, Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, http://www.facebook.com/ terms.php?ref=pRlast visited Mar. 10, 2009) (You will not provide any false personal information on Facebook, or create an account for anyone other than yourself without permission ... You will not post content or take any action on Facebook that infringes or violates someone else's rights... If you repeatedly infringe other people's intellectual property rights, we will disable your account when appropriate.).

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most