I quoted this from an undisclosed website. Thought it was interesting and I want to know what you think.
Quote:
It is the opinion of many that if you are banned and/or told you are no longer welcome to a site, that it's perfectly legal to return. Even an administrator from a competitor's board said it is the site owner's responsibility to keep people out. It's a shame that the public isn't more aware of the laws of cyberspace, and the consequences of violating them.
In short: It IS Trespassing (just as if you were to walk into someone's house) if a webmaster/administrator/site owner tells you to leave. The same laws and consequences apply, except on a Federal level. There have been many cases put before the courts that have won on the grounds of Trespassing. One in particular was huge in 1998, and involved CompuServe. To make a long story short, someone was sending mass emails to CompuServe subscribers. CompuServe told them they overstayed their welcome, and kicked them out. They ignored Compuserve's request to stay away, and returned anyways. Compuserve sought and received a T.R.O. (Temporary Restraining Order) against them, and took the case to court. CompuServe won the case by a landslide and since the article is lengthy, I'll try to highlight a few key points:
- The defendants argued that a site on the internet is an open invitation to anyone.
The court rejected that claim, and held that "under traditional principles, a business invitee?s privilege to remain on another?s property may be revoked if reasonable notice to leave is given." The court also rejected the notion that CompuServe?s network constituted the facilities of a "public utility" that would have created a special privilege for the defendants to use CompuServe?s computer systems.
- The defandants argued, just as our previous members and staff have argued, that circumventing a ban, and returning unwelcomed falls under "Freedom Of Speech".
The court noted that the constitutional guarantee of free speech applies only to abridgment by government and not a private actor.
While this particular case relates more to unsolicited Email(Spam) the court nonetheless ruled under common law trespassing guidelines.
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As you can see, under a Legal notice it
IS considered Trespassing if bannished from a certain webspace and return. Let me also remind you that the court doesn't always see these claims. If I were a Judge, I'd laugh it off as a joke. For more of an "official" article check
this page. Please, I encourage your opinion below. Thanks. My regards,
~ Crater Seraph ~
07-22-2002, 01:10 AM
Cyber Trespassing
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