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PGP Ruled as Relevant For Criminal Case

Posted by Hemos on from the stupid-stupid-courts dept.

waytoomuchcoffee writes "A Minnesota appeals unamimously ruled in a child porn case that "the existence of an encryption program" on the defendants computer could be admitted as evidence of criminal intent. The article doesn't mention if this can be taken into account for sentencing too."

6 of 675 comments (clear)

  1. Oh come on by cmad_x · · Score: 0, Redundant

    They can't be serious. According to their own logic, whoever has a knife at home has murderer intent. Where's the common sense people?

  2. Better dump XP Pro for XP home by hotspotbloc · · Score: 0, Redundant
    In the same vein since XP Pro includes file/folder encryption I guess that too would be "criminal intent".

    What a stupid ruling.

    --
    "I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity but they've always worked for me" - HST
  3. absolutely ridiculus by cryptoz · · Score: 0, Redundant

    This is totally outrageous! I mean, it's like saying that because you own a gun that you will be found guilty for a murder or something. The main reason that the courts can function while saying that the presence of encryption technology is harmful is because of the widespread ignorance.

    This is the sort of thing we need to fight. There are more legit. uses of cryptography than anyone can shake a bloody stick at! And if they're going to start ruling in such a manner where this becomes a pattern, it won't stop soon. Just watch, within a few years it may be illegal to use crypto for unknown purposes. And in a decade it will be illegal to possess technology in order to do so. These ideas are not crazy; governments have been doing this will all sorts of weapons for a long time, and we all know that they've also been treating strong crypto as a weapon for just as long.

    As I said, this is the sort of thing that needs to be fought. Strongly.

  4. Install Winzip/Winrar... by galdur · · Score: 0, Redundant

    ... go to jail

  5. Any relationship to gun ownership? by bad_outlook · · Score: 0, Redundant

    So if someone owns a gun should it be revealed for any criminal offense they commit to show that they *could* use it to kill someone? Should we include anyone who owns a knife, owns a car to run people down, owns a hammer to smash someones skull? Come on.

    bo

    --
    bad_outlook
    --
    Is this vague enough for you?
  6. A box of envelopes was also found by noidentity · · Score: 0, Redundant

    The case was also bolstered by a box of envelopes, found on the premisis, which are used to conceil information and leave evidence in case of interception.