The Web's Dark Side

This article by Mannix, Locy, Clark, Smith, Perry, McCoy…Kaplan (2000) titled The Web’s Dark Side discusses the not-so-popular side of surfing the internet, referred to as cyberspace–a rather outdated nickname–and plays out a week online with examples various crimes and misdemeanors, swindles, thefts, perils and problems of the internet. The types of crimes and wrongdoings is vast, and many various types of crimes are detailed with accounts of individuals, what crimes were committed, how it came about, and sometimes the outcome. The material demonstrates how fast the world of the Internet has developed: written thirteen years ago, it already hints of a day long ago, and therefore is enjoyable reading for the comparison of matters today. At the time it was breakthrough technology. If re-written, it could apply to today as well.
It is pointed out how the internet has revolutionized our lives and society, and then the article points out how vast this new arena is, lending itself to all sorts of “bad stuff out there.” It is the rate at which crimes are reported that has really caused the focus of the article to occur. A slew of statistics are given, which, if compared to today, would probably seem like child’s play, but the point is that rate of increase is comparatively alarming.
U.S. News and World Report, whom the team of authors is employed for, sent a team of reporters out for one particular week to discover a host of crimes in the online world, and the rest of the article is spent reviewing cases discovered, culminating with a week-in-review list of the reporter’s findings.
The first legal issue the article analyzed was cyberstalking, or the equivalent of the playground bully, but on a more serious level, and done from halfway across the country. The scene is a picture of a middle school set in the crosshairs of a riflescope and the school principle displayed with simulated bullet holes and streaming blood. A 20-year old defendant, who 5 years earlier survived a paralyzing accident but not without apparent mental consequences, will stand trial for terrorizing the community and the principle. The defendant’s lawyer prepares a technical defense–laws at the time are vague and don’t cover crimes committed with a computer Further complicating this issue is the across-state boundaries nature of the crime.
While the issue here does not involve commerce or taxation, it does involve free speech. One might argue that the defendant is allowed to say whatever he wants, given his First Amendment rights. As Justice Holmes said in Schenck v. United States (249 U.S. 47), “The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing panic” (Meiners, Ringleb & Edwards, 2012).
According to Meiners, Ringleb & Edwards (2012), “To be convicted of a crime, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that (1) the accused committed the illegal act, and (2) that there was necessary intent or state of mind to commit the act.” It would not be too difficult to demonstrate the accused committed the act because of trackability within the internet system; that is, all computers are assigned a machine number that is unique to it, and is traceable. Criminal intent is what has to be established.
While the insanity defense is slung around with considerable degree nowadays, it may have a real merit in this case. As mentioned earlier, the defendant was involved in an auto accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down, underwent extensive surgery and regained limited use of his arms. There are hints given that his mental state is questionable: (1) the defendant had beforehand led a normal life, being an Eagle Scout and playing saxophone in the school band, and (2) the sentence “But something went wrong along the way” (Mannix, Locy, Clark, Smith, Perry, McCoy…Kaplan, 2000).
I firmly believe a crime is committed in this case, and not one based on negligence but on intent. The defendant may be able to raise an affirmative defense–some degree of insanity or mental defect. There are more details that would need to be scrutinized than the article eludes to; however, the article later reveals as picture captions some various outcomes of the cases covered: the defendant in this case served some unspecified time in rehabilitation.
The article covers many more issues of cybercrime: adoption fraud, stock shenanigans, credit card theft, child solicitation, internet addiction, trademark wars, hacking, and identity theft, and ends with a laundry-list of week-long crimes unveiled across the U.S. It was informative and well organized. I would like to see a similar updated version with current statistics, for informative and comparison purposes. References
Mannix, M., Locy, T., Clark, K., Smith, A. K., Perry, J., McCoy, F….Kaplan, D. E. (2000, August 28). The web. U.S. News & World Report, 129(8), 36. Retrieved from http://0-www.lexisnexis.com.oak.indwes.edu/hottopics/lnacademic/
Meiners, R. E., Ringleb, A. H., & Edwards, F. L. (2012). The legal environment of business. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

References: Mannix, M., Locy, T., Clark, K., Smith, A. K., Perry, J., McCoy, F….Kaplan, D. E. (2000, August 28). The web. U.S. News & World Report, 129(8), 36. Retrieved from http://0-www.lexisnexis.com.oak.indwes.edu/hottopics/lnacademic/ Meiners, R. E., Ringleb, A. H., & Edwards, F. L. (2012). The legal environment of business. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.