In 2006, Lori Drew registered and set up a profile for a fake 16 year old boy named “Josh Evans” on MySpace. She posted a picture of a boy without that boy’s knowledge or consent. The government claimed Drew’s conduct violated MySpace’s terms of service and prosecuted Lori Drew a.k.a. a “Cyber Bully” under a misdemeanor statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(2)(C), the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act claiming that Drew intentionally violated MySpace’s terms of services.
The U.S. District Judge held the law unconstitutionally overbroad because the law would make criminals out of “the lonely-heart who submits intentionally inaccurate data about his or her age, height and/or physical appearance . . . the student who posts candid photographs of classmates without their permission. . . . and/or the exasperated parent who sends out a group message to neighborhood friends entreating them to purchase his or her daughter’s girl scout cookies . . . “
Should the government be prosecuting people for intentionally violating an Internet website’s terms of services?
By: Fay Arfa, Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney