Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Reporter may be prosecuted for using “view source”

stltoday.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

121–130 of 168 posts

Re: Reporter may be prosecuted for using “view source”

#121

Post by brandonmenc »

Buttons840 wrote: post #18

> “If somebody picks your lock on your house — for whatever reason, it’s not a good lock, it’s a cheap lock or whatever problem you might have — they do not have the right to go into your house and take anything that belongs to you,” Parson said. The reporter did the equivalent of noticing a lock was rusted through and barely hanging on. He poked the lock and it crumbled to pieces. He didn't take anything, he reporte…

We need to stop with the analogies.

What's actually happening is: someone is broadcasting the data. End of story.

Now I'm going to ignore my own advice: it's like displaying the data on a big screen in the town square and then trying to arrest people for turning their head to look at it.

Re: Reporter may be prosecuted for using “view source”

#122

Post by chc4 »

dramatica_una wrote: post #111
akersten wrote: post #10

We desperately need a law that says (or at least need people in power to understand that) if your server sends it (as an agent working on behalf of your interests), you decided it was ok for me to receive it! For HTTP this understanding is literally conveyed in the status code (200-OK). Once data is sent to the client, you can't say they are breaking the law by looking at it[0]. Anyone with a text-based browser would…

As someone who was thoroughly and intimately familiar with both the person weev was/is and the details surrounding the AT&T disclosure case, there is absolutely NO question that weev deserved to be incarcerated and for far longer than he ended serving. Multiple people are in federal prison on his account, multiple lives have been stained and essentially ruined on account of weev surrendering ("snitching") information…

I feel dumb for even having to make this argument, but people can be bad and guilty of other crimes and that doesn't mean they should be found guilty for things unrelated to those other crimes. Everything you listed in this comment is unrelated to the weev v. at&t case, which was (imo) a sham of a lawsuit, irrespective of whatever other heinous things he did.

Re: Reporter may be prosecuted for using “view source”

#124

Post by ta3927590 »

nimbius wrote: post #92

So it seems Parsons administration decided this is the hill to die on in 2021. he had every opportunity to pump the brakes on this investigation but decided doubling down on a journalist had a better payoff, and a more prominent ability to cast him as a white knight protecting the state of Missouri against fiendish hackers. the 'view source' prosecution strategy is certainly something id hope to keep out of the spotl…

Malarkey may be the intent. Knowing the case is nonsense and having no expectation of winning, you press on because even if eventually found not-guilty, the process of the defendant getting there if prosecuted can be used to destroy their career, reputation, finances, etc. Enough that it still feels like a win to the state, who rarely has much to lose in a relative sense.

Re: Reporter may be prosecuted for using “view source”

#125

Post by shrimpx »

akersten wrote: post #10

We desperately need a law that says (or at least need people in power to understand that) if your server sends it (as an agent working on behalf of your interests), you decided it was ok for me to receive it! For HTTP this understanding is literally conveyed in the status code (200-OK). Once data is sent to the client, you can't say they are breaking the law by looking at it[0]. Anyone with a text-based browser would…

Even if we had a law like that, you could still get "prosecuted", i.e. sued by the govt for whatever reason. Depending on the DA, they may even bring prosecutions to "make a point," knowing it won't go anywhere.

That said, this case seems to be tossing into a gray area any plugin or browser or browser version that alters the "expected rendering" in any way. So if I wrote my website and only tested with IE, and you opened it in Firefox which due to a rendering difference reveals something I didn't intend to be revealed, this government would presumably try to sue you...

Re: Reporter may be prosecuted for using “view source”

#126

Post by lkxijlewlf »

SauciestGNU wrote: post #90
jrockway wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Locks are a terrible analogy for what's going on here. This would be like the government publishing a newsletter, and then writing a bunch of teachers' social security numbers on it in invisible ink. Someone then noticed that you can still read the invisible ink, and then wrote an article about how incompetently the government managed the data. This is a simple case of an egotistical politician who wishes he was King…

I'd say even invisible ink is taking the analogy too far. It's like the government published a newsletter, printed the PII on the back of the paper, and now wants to prosecute the first person to look at the back of the page.

I commented below that I think it is like opening a CSV in notepad++ vs Excel. Same data, Excel just hides the commas. The commas are still there, though!

Re: Reporter may be prosecuted for using “view source”

#127

Post by q1w2 »

wolverine876 wrote: post #86

Someone - a particular political party - is attacking the free press and freedom generally. The only answer is to be heard, loudly, and vote them out of office. The cavalry isn't coming - nobody will save us but us. It's not a partisan statement. I'm not saying it to favor one party or another (though unavoidably the other party would benefit - we'd be better off with multiple parties committed to democracy). We agre…

I have seen prosecutors act like complete slime balls - from both parties.

Intimidating witnesses - misrepresenting evidence - omitting counter-evidence - over-charging defendants - denying timely access to council.

If you think this is about politics - you are mistaken. You just haven't seen all the other times defendants have been mistreated in court.

Re: Reporter may be prosecuted for using “view source”

#128

Post by q1w2 »

Animats wrote: post #58

Section 242 of the U.S. Criminal Code: Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects, or causes to be subjected, any inhabitant of any State, Territory, or District to the deprivation of any rights,privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States . . . shall be fined not more than$ 1,000, or imprisoned not more than one y…

Laws that are vague are superseded by laws that are more specific.

Re: Reporter may be prosecuted for using “view source”

#129

Post by dang »

Recent and related:

Reporter who told Missouri officials of website flaw did 'nothing out of line' - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29098289 - Nov 2021 (190 comments)

Gov. Parson releases video attacking newspaper for viewing HTML - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28980855 - Oct 2021 (26 comments)

Gov Parson pushes to prosecute reporter who found security flaw in state site - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28946392 - Oct 2021 (525 comments)

Post reply on HN