Sat, 10 Nov 2007
What about AT&T?
Interesting tidbit at the Washington Post about l33t 4dwarez h4x0r pleading guilty to being malicious:
John Kenneth Schiefer, 26, variously known online as "acid" and "acidstorm," agreed to plead guilty to at least four felony charges of fraud and wiretapping, charges punishable by $1.75 million in fines and nearly 60 years in prison.
That was for for 250,000 computers. When the evidence is laid out against people at AT&T, if the evidence says they defrauded and wiretapped at least 100 times that many people, what will their punishment be?
I'm rooting for 60 * 100 years in jail, spread evenly among the people who did the wiretapping. Or perhaps 60 * 100 years for each person, if that seems more fair.
Sat, 03 Nov 2007
I don't worry, I hope
AT&T has been "allegedly" illegally wiretapping Americans for ages and giving that data illegally to the government. Here's the government's take:
The companies face suits from customers who say their privacy was violated. Administration officials say they worry that the suits, pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, could bankrupt the utilities.
I don't "worry" they could bankrupt the utilities. I hope.
If there is no incentive for these corporations, and others in a long line past them, to follow the law, then we no longer have the rule of law: companies will simply do illegal things and then explain that if the law were enforced, they'd have to pay some money.
I've been screaming and swearing about this for a week. I can't understand how anyone can calmly disagree with this.
Let me remind you that the President, who is charge of the executive branch of government in this country, "shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed" according to the Constitution.
