Where will the courts draw the line between speech and action? Is the person who writes a virus a criminal? What if she releases one accidentally? What if she does so on purpose? What if her activities are part of an academic study program focusing on viral behavior and dissemination? Can writing a virus be considered aiding and abetting a crime (such as vandalism)? And what about computer intrusion? Are “hacking” and “cracking” more analogous to burglary than to trespass? Or do they not fit any traditional crime at all? Should the law distinguish between “malicious” and “exploratory” computer intrusion? Questions like these will dominate discussions of computer-crime legislation.
Predictor: Godwin, Mike
Prediction, in context:In a 1993 article for Internet World, Mike Godwin, chief counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, outlines issues in regard to law and the Internet. Godwin writes: ”An area of the law likely to be changed by the growth of the networks is criminal law. Consider, for example, the release and dissemination of computer viruses. One of the legal norms in this country is that, under most circumstances, you can be prosecuted for only for things you ‘do,’ not for things you ‘say.’ But the world of computers and networks is a world in which language (specifically, computer language) has immense power to do good or ill. Where will the courts draw the line between speech and action? Is the person who writes a virus a criminal? What if she releases one accidentally? What if she does so on purpose? What if her activities are part of an academic study program focusing on viral behavior and dissemination? Can writing a virus be considered aiding and abetting a crime (such as vandalism)? And what about computer intrusion? Are ‘hacking’ and ‘cracking’ more analogous to burglary than to trespass? Or do they not fit any traditional crime at all? Should the law distinguish between ‘malicious’ and ‘exploratory’ computer intrusion? Questions like these will dominate discussions of computer-crime legislation.”
Biography:Mike Godwin was an attorney specializing in Internet issues and the outspoken chief counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the cyber-liberties organization in the 1990s. (Legislator/Politician/Lawyer.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1993
Topic of prediction: Controversial Issues
Subtopic: Crime/Fraud/Terrorism
Name of publication: Internet World
Title, headline, chapter name: The Law of the Net: Problems and Prospects
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.eff.org/Publications/Mike_Godwin/law_of_the_net_godwin.article
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Johnson, Kathleen