Urgent to All Chatters!
On November 27th 2002, radio station WTOP, the news radio station in Washington DC, announced with an interview from a representative of the Homeland Security Administration that a tracking system was in place to monitor all the activities of individuals on the internet, cell phones, two way radios and mobile and stationary telephones. The law that allows unlimited access to the private chats, private video web cam showings and e-mails as well as browser searches will go into effect on January 1, 2003.
In addition to tracking potential terrorist activities, they will also be tracking potential law breakers who through normal adult activities which may be accessed by legal minors in the United States of America through intent or by accident. Also a number of known and unknown serial predators are using the Internet to hunt down their victims leading to murders and rape in growing numbers of unsolved crimes. These individuals will also be tracked using this monitoring system. It will also be used to track investigate and prosecute stalkers and those who harass.
The Problem:
1) Privacy laws do not apply to illegal activities by private consenting individuals on the Internet.
2) The majority of individuals using the internet are disabled or shut in or separated from their loved ones, or are individuals using chat and video web cameras features for adult entertainment in what they think is safe sex also known as cyber.
3) Ignorance of the laws is no defense if you are charged.
4) Everything you do, say, video, in fact all your internet activities are logged on your server's hard drive, catalogued and dated and are permanently fixed to your hard drive and can be retrieved with special programs and used as evidence against you if you are charged or investigated.
What is the Law?
Most of us are familiar with the FCC limits on what can be broadcast on cable, TV and radio. What we don't realize, as the general public, is that because all of our activities on the telephone and through the Internet use open airways, every activity we do on the Internet in the privacy of our own homes is covered under that broadcast law.
The Broadcast law: (This excerpt was copied from the www.fcc.gov)
"Obscene Broadcasts Are Prohibited At All Times.
Obscene speech is not protected by the First Amendment and cannot be broadcast at any time. To be obscene, material must meet a three-prong test:
· An average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find that the material, as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest;
· The material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable law; and
· The material, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Indecent Broadcast Restrictions:
The FCC has defined broadcast indecency as "language or material that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community broadcast standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory organs or activities." Indecent programming contains patently offensive sexual or excretory references that do not rise to the level of obscenity. As such, the courts have held that indecent material is protected by the First Amendment and cannot be banned entirely. It may, however, be restricted in order to avoid its broadcast during times of the day when there is a reasonable risk that children may be in the audience. Consistent with a federal statute and federal court decisions interpreting the indecency statute, the Commission adopted a rule pursuant to which broadcasts -- both on television and radio -- that fit within the indecency definition and that are aired between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. are subject to indecency enforcement action."
(If you are on a cable modem guess what you fall under! Yep you are on the air!)
" sec.508 coercion and enticement of minors sec2422 of title 18 US code: (Enacted in 1996) Any person who knowingly persuades, induces, entices, coerces any individual who has not attainded the age of 18(21 in some states) can be fined or imprisoned for not more than 10 years or both."
Note: if a minor is in the room when you are committing an indecent act on the internet or approaches you on the net you are still liable for corrupting the morals of a minor even if you aren't aware that minor is there because the minor is off cam. This also applies to certain individuals who appear adult but are of mental diminished capacity.
What you can do to protect yourself:
1) Cease and desist of all legally indecent acts on cam, chat or voice.
2) Before you chat with anyone get verification of his or her identity and age.
3) Password all photographs and text that is Adult in nature so that minors cannot access them especially if you send them across the net.
4) Take all incriminating logs off your computer including text files, photographs and videos. This may mean replacing your hard drive and destroying the old one. But remember even if you do this your server logs can be accessed with a court order if you are charged or investigated.
5) If you just cant help yourself set up predetermined code words that aren't indecent in nature for chats and phone conversations. Don't show any indecent acts ever on Cam.
6) Don't think you are immune from prosecution simply because everyone is doing it. With the new tracking and information gathering tools in place information can be collected and sent to local state and federal law enforcement agencies just on the basses of words that appear on the logs.
7) Be aware that certain activities that you participate in with other adults, especially if one or more of you are married, can lead to civil prosecution.
What they can do if you are under investigation:
1. They can confiscate all your computer and electronic equipment including all disks and programs and you can be prevented use of the Internet.
2. In some cases if you have minor children in your home social services agencies can be called in and your children removed from the home even if you aren't charged.
3. Your activities can be placed on public record if you are charged which can lead to loss of job, family troubles and public humiliation.
4. Even if you are found innocent of all charges you may find yourself with impossible legal fees and with charges from numerous federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
5. You can be charged. Even if you are found innocent it will become part of your public police record. If you are found guilty you become a felon (in some cases), can be assessed fines and your name can be placed on a sex offenders list. And you can find yourself unable to vote and hold certain jobs.
6. Depending on where you are located and who your activities have been conducted with information can be shared with numerous law enforcement agencies all of which can investigate and charge you.
While there are many loopholes in the law, are you willing to put your life, your job, your family on hold and become a test case?
Just ask yourself is it worth it??
Disclaimer: This information is the culmination of Internet research and interviews
with federal law enforcement persons done over the last month. It is in no way a
law enforcement sponsored sight. The person who compiled this information is actively
involved in internet life and does not have any legal training.
(Compiled, researched and written by L.L.Martin , llmartin_45@yahoo.com 12/04/02 copyright2002 all rights reserved)
DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT! CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF!
Please feel free to pass this on to everyone you know that chats online!!
If you would like to link your sight to this page please contact L.L.Martin at the e-mail listed below.
If you want to confirm or check out the information given here, it is all available on the Internet.
Here are a few sights to start with:
www.fcc.gov
www.fbi.gov
Also check out your local and state statutes for indecency laws.
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