Are You A Teenager Who Reads News Online? According to the Justice Department, You May Be a Criminal
Source: EFF
During his first term, President Barack Obama declared October 2009 to be National Information Literacy Awareness Month, emphasizing that, for students, learning to navigate the online world is as important a skill as reading, writing and arithmetic. It was a move that echoed his predecessor's strong support of global literacysuch as reading newspapersmost notably through First Lady Laura Bush's advocacy.
Yet, disturbingly, the Departments of Justice (DOJ) of both the Bush and Obama administrations have embraced an expansive interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) that would literally make it a crime for many kids to read the news online. And its the main reason why the law must be reformed.
As weve explained previously, in multiple cases the DOJ has taken the position that a violation of a websites Terms of Service or an employers Terms of Use policy can be treated as a criminal act. And the House Judiciary Committee has floated a proposal that makes the DOJs position law, making it a crime to access a website for any impermissible purpose. For a number of reasons, including the requirements of the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act, many news sites have terms of service that prohibit minors from using their interactive services and sometimes even visiting their websites.
Take, for example, the Hearst Corporations family of publications. If you read the terms of use for the Houston Chronicle, the San Francisco Chronicle, or Popular Mechanics websites, youll find this language, screamed in all-caps:
"YOU MAY NOT ACCESS OR USE THE COVERED SITES OR ACCEPT THE AGREEMENT IF YOU ARE NOT AT LEAST 18 YEARS OLD.
Read more: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/04/are-you-teenager-who-reads-news-online-according-justice-department-you-may-be