Hong Kong and Their Different Cultures

COMG-161-01
2/10/2013
Laws/Acts and Cases
Topic: USA Patriot Act
Web Sites used: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_act http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/02/osama-bin-laden-dead-one- Summary: The Patriot act was signed into law by President Bush on October 26, 2001. The act was a response to the deadly terrorist attacks of September 11th also known as nine eleven. The law made it easier for enforcement agencies to track and regulate financial transactions, involving foreign individuals who were suspected of being a terrorist. The act also gave enforcement agencies more authority in detaining and deporting immigrants suspected of terrorism- related acts. Before this law, there were a lot more restrictions for law enforcement agencies to gain intelligence through wiretaps, emails or even financial records of foreign individuals.
Opinion: I believe that this law has been very successful in serving its purpose. This law makes it easier for federal agencies to track suspected terrorist through technology, without having to get many different types of warrants. I think this act may have played a major role in finding Osama Bin Laden, through detainees who gave information about couriers, and monitored phone conversations. I also think the Patriot Act will continue to help in the fight against terrorists.

Topic: Michigan Man Charged with Selling Counterfeit Microsoft Software worth More Than $1.2 Million
Web Site used: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2012/November/12-crm-1335.html
Summary: On Oct. 24, 2012 Bruce Alan Edward was indicted by the federal grand jury in Bay City, Michigan for mail fraud and selling counterfeit Microsoft software with a retail value of more than $1.2 million. This case revealed that Edward distributed counterfeit copies of Microsoft Office 2003 Professional and Microsoft Windows XP Professional software by purchasing copyrighted works from China and Singapore. Then he sold the copyrighted versions on eBay and delivered the counterfeit software through the U.S. Postal Service. If Edwards loses his case, he could get a maximum of 45 years in prison and pay $1.5 million in fines. This case is pending.
Opinion: I think Mr. Edward should be looking for good attorney. Most of the time cybercriminals may face a lot of time and fines but after taking a plea agreement years are turned into months and millions are knocked down to thousands. I did not know that you could get that much time for mail fraud and selling counterfeit goods. I guess it is because it was valued in the millions. In addition, this incident shows that you have to be careful of what you purchase online at sites like e-bay instead of purchasing straight from the company. My sister, Latricia had a bad experience with a counterfeit operating system. Her laptop was running slow and she gave it to a friend of the family to fix it. They ended up installing a counterfeit version of Windows 7 on it. It worked just fine for about two weeks, after that her hard drive recognized that it was not a legal version so it stopped loading the operating system. In turn, she brought a legal version of Windows 7 and installed it herself. Her laptop has not slowed down since.

Topic: Roseville man sentenced to 15 months in prison for selling counterfeit software.
Web Site used: http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/press-releases/2010/breskiSent.pdf
Summary: A man named Derick Breski, 43 of Roseville was investigated by the federal bureau of investigation. He was charged with selling counterfeit software. The reason it was counterfeit because he got copies off the internet from a file-sharing service on the internet. After he downloaded the software, he made copies of it and sold them to customers. Eventually he was convicted and pled guilty on August 13, 2010. The judge sentenced him 15 months in prison. Selling counterfeit software is also known as copyright infringement. This is when someone reproduces a form of software that he or she do not have the copyrights to and sell them to other people. The software he stole was Adobe, AutoCAD, Rosetta Stone and software from Microsoft.
Opinion: I did some research on the prices for some of the software Breski was counterfeiting. The software was expensive, Adobe ranged from $195-$585, AutoCAD ranged from $875-$5100, and Rosetta Stone from $127-$399. All of the software ranged from the hundreds to thousands, making it tempting for criminals to find a way to copy it and re-sale it. It may be tempting for some but I would not want to risk my freedom for any price whether it is in the hundreds, thousands, or millions. Companies try to make as difficult as possible for people to access certain files. On the other hand, the proper individuals who need access to the files may be the ones who steal and sell the software.

Topic: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
Web Site used: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Educational_Rights_and_Privacy_Act
Summary: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act was enacted August 21, 1974. This law gives students access to their education records and lets student determine who the school can let see those records. The school has to have permission from a parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student’s education record. The law only applies to educational agencies and institutions that receive funding under a program administered by the U.S. Department of Education.
Opinion: I think this law was enacted to protect students’ privacy of education records. I also believe that it gives students the right to review their records for misleading information. A student should have the right to correct any misleading information that is on his or her education record. A student may have to correct a grade, financial aid information, social security number etc. Mistakes like these could cause major problems if there are not seen early enough. This act is good for students, parents, and educational institutions.