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Kiddie Porn - The Virus Did It

Posted by michael on from the control-issues dept.

The New York Times reports on a British man who was accused of downloading child pornography, and who successfully convinced the court that a virus did it. This is at least the second time this has happened. These cases are extremely interesting since they bring together all sorts of issues of computerized agents - who is actually responsible when your computer does something?

8 of 610 comments (clear)

  1. Virus? by Renraku · · Score: 5, Funny

    "It wasn't my fault, Officer. Honest, the video said it was Terminator 3 when I downloaded it!"

    "The evil hacker even took the time to arrange and sort those pictures by series!"

    --
    Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
  2. Head cold? by danormsby · · Score: 3, Funny

    So the tissues by the keyboard were because you had a virus?

    --
    Omnis amans amens
  3. Where I come from... by Phekko · · Score: 5, Funny

    the law in Finland (IANAL, but still) says "if you know or SHOULD know..." I believe this one falls under the "should know" category.

    Now that we're on this topic, though, does anyone know where to get a virus that downloads high quality images of nubile women with scant clothing who are of legal age?

    --

    Sigs for Nerds. Sigs that Matter.
  4. It has to be a conspiracy by __aadhrk6380 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Did anyone check the name of the company that located the virus? Vogon International, LTD.

    I suspect the Prostetnic Vogon Geltz.

  5. Re:who is actually responsible ... by Blue+Stone · · Score: 2, Funny
    I have an idea of some sort of Bill gates silicone doll sitting on top of my pc, full of sensors, linked up to the USB port, so that when it crashes, it'll tell me it's responsible, I can torture it, and it'll scream, and reboot when the pain level reaches a certain level.

    I feel this device would find a significant market.

    Now I'm just looking for investors.

    --
    Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
  6. heh by ed.han · · Score: 3, Funny

    sorry, i just couldn't help thinking that the phrase "harvest porn" is not unlike "furniture porn" so couldn't help imagining combines in painfully silly poses.

    OK, move along, nothing to see here...

    ed

  7. GOOD GOD, WE MUST CONTROL THE SPORKS!!!!! by feed_me_cereal · · Score: 3, Funny
    A basic computer competency test should be *compulsory* before anyone is allowed to purchase a computer.

    Heck, sporks can be pretty dangerous too! A spork competency test should be compulsory before using such a potentialy dangerous tool. Said test should include the following areas:
    • Basic form of spork (stops the old "is this a fork or is it a spork" question in the lunchline)
    • Basic application of spork to lunch (by basic I mean VERY basic. "This is a porkchop. You insert the pointy parts into it first.")
    • Basic spork skills (Don't insert the spork into your eye. Remove the food from the spork using your teeth, not your hand)
    • Basic spork security (in fact, don't even include the word "security". Include this in the basic application section. Cover topics such as "don't share your spork, you might get cooties")
    • How to report a problem (if there is a school chef or cafeteria supervisor available)

    Hmm... actually, we could solve all of this and have a slashdot moderating competency test. Basically, whenever some short-sighted elitist suggests an insane reduction of basic freedoms for absolutely no reason, a mod of "insightful" will result in instant failure. Yeah, I think that would do it.
    --
    "Question with boldness even the existence of a god." - Thomas Jefferson
  8. Re:whoever the RIAA said did it by Peterus7 · · Score: 2, Funny
    Wow, this is just a jackpot of excuses for when your mom checks the history of your computer and finds everything you don't want her to see...

    "Mom, it was a virus... No, it was the RIAA... No, it was a big corporation... No, it was Gabe and Tycho... No, it was Dad... From the grave... No, it was Steve Jobs and Bill Gates fused together using alien android technology to make StevGate, the ultimate computer genius... Yeah. That's it..."