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Top EU Court Says There’s No Right To Online Anonymity, Because Copyright Is More Important (www.techdirt.com)

submitted 5 months ago by General_Effort@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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The key problem is that copyright infringement by a private individual is regarded by the court as something so serious that it negates the right to privacy. It’s a sign of the twisted values that copyright has succeeded on imposing on many legal systems. It equates the mere copying of a digital file with serious crimes that merit a prison sentence, an evident absurdity.

This is a good example of how copyright’s continuing obsession with ownership and control of digital material is warping the entire legal system in the EU. What was supposed to be simply a fair way of rewarding creators has resulted in a monstrous system of routine government surveillance carried out on hundreds of millions of innocent people just in case they copy a digital file.

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[–] stonerboner@lemmynsfw.com 6 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Stalking is always a crime, and has a specific legal definition. For the federal level in the US per 18 U.S.C. § 2261A:

The statute specifies that it is illegal to engage in conduct with the intent to kill, injure, harass, intimidate, or place under surveillance with the intent to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate another person, where such conduct:

Places that person in reasonable fear of the death of, or serious bodily injury to: That person;

An immediate family member;

A spouse or intimate partner of that person; or

A pet, service animal, emotional support animal, or horse of that person; or

Causes, attempts to cause, or would be reasonably expected to cause substantial emotional distress to: That person;

An immediate family member;

A spouse or intimate partner of that person; or

A pet, service animal, emotional support animal, or horse of that person.

Scrolling through their social media is not stalking, unless you plan to harass or harm the person.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 1 points 5 months ago

Exactly. It's creepy, but that doesn't make it illegal. Don't do it, but it shouldn't be illegal.

If you're constantly making awkward posts on their content after being asked to stop, blocked by the individual (and you keep making alts), etc, that could be illegal. But being creepy isn't and shouldn't be a crime on its own.