Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Lister
I'm willing to but your HO would change if you were suddenly charged with a crime related to the downloading of illicit material. Suppose, for example, some pervert parked outside your house, hacked your weakly secured wireless, and posted or downloaded some decidedly illegal content over your assigned addy.
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No, it wouldn't. Let's take your viewpoint for a minute. Let's suppose there are four people using your IP connection, not to mention school friends, etc. There is proof that an illegal download was made via your IP connection. How can anyone prove who was actually responsible?
The only sensible way to do it (IMHO) is to handle it the same way that (in the UK at least) traffic offences are handled, which is to prosecute the legal owner of the vehicle, but give them the option of specifying who the actual driver was at the time. If the owner says "I don't know who was driving at the time" then it's the legal owner of the vehicle who gets prosecuted. Their vehicle; their responsibility. But make the punishment fit the crime. You get a £60 fine (about $100) for speeding. Make the fine for illegal downloading something similar. It's this nonsense of fining people millions that's got to stop.
Can you suggest a practical alternative? That's a serious question - I'm interested to know what other options you feel that there are here?