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PGP Ruled as Relevant For Criminal Case
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."
An upstanding citizen has come forward with a computer he 'found' on the street and sues the 'previous owner' because the fact that his data was encrypted is obviously evidence of illegal intent.
The previous owner was lynched later in the day and we applaude this model citizen for bringing this travesty to our attention.
Frylock: "We should have cloned twenties, Jackson wouldn't have given a fuck."
You have no idea how ignorant that sounds. Please leave trial law to the lawyers. Watching CSI does not make you a legal expert.
If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
If the state can't prove this fellow had or produced child porn without referring to the simple fact that he has encryption software, the state has no business bothering him, in my estimation.
Encryption tools shouldn't be admitted as evidence of intent to commit a crime in any way, shape or form. Any more than owning fast shoes (sneakers) is a crime, even though you were walking in sneakers when you held up the bank.
The crime here is (should be) abusing the trust and/or corpus of an individual the state asserts is unable to manage their own sexuality (and the state should probably have to prove that, too.)
Anything beyond that is legal sophistry at best, and clueless babbling of a legal system completely out of control at worst.
Just because it is law, doesn't mean it isn't stupid. Quite the contrary.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.