DOJ: Lying On Match.com Needs To Be A Crime

CNET NEWS - Nov 15 - The U.S. Department of Justice is defending computer hacking laws that make it a crime to use a fake name on Facebook or lie about your weight in an online dating profile. Rhe Justice Department argues that it must be able to prosecute violations of Web sites' often-ignored, always-unintelligible "terms of service" policies. The law in question, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, has been used by the Justice Department to prosecute a woman who used a fake MySpace account to verbally attack a 13-year old girl who then committed suicide.

by Declan McCullagh
See full article at CNet News

Comments

[Jerry Buchs]

First of all, whatever editor wrote this headline for CNET either didn't read the story or is just trying to get attention (more likely) because the reporter is the only one who mentions lying about your weight on Match.com as being a potential crime as relates to violating a website's terms of service. So it winds up being not a good "mention" for Match.com.

Regarding the actual issue, the letter from the coalition opposing the law makes a good point: "If a person assumes a fictitious identity at a party, there is no federal crime," the letter says. "Yet if they assume that same identity on a social network that prohibits pseudonyms, there may again be a CFAA violation. This is a gross misuse of the law."

[Datinginsider]

Agree that was a silly mention of online dating, but great linkbait. Everyone unintentionally lies on dating sites one way or another. Either your self-description or who you are looking for. Dating industry makes too much money letting the liars on the site. Only the top-performing sites will work with safety and security features, the smaller sites just want the pageviews and don't care too much about who's on the site.

[Mark Brooks]

I kinda like this idea in practice, but its completely not going to be enforced, so why waste everyone's time.

[George]

if the goal of the new legislation is to save another suicidial 13-year old girl than why not shut down My Space altogether, so there would be no fake accounts?