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Viewing Files on the Web Considered Possession?

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the only-if-the-site-charges dept.

Packet Pusher writes "A Georgia lawyer is taking a case to appeals court to prove that the mere act of viewing a website does not constitute possession of the materials that were automatically cached on your hard drive." While the case in question involves pornographic photos, the implications of such a declaration could reach far further.

12 of 719 comments (clear)

  1. Time to move those mp3's by winkydink · · Score: 4, Funny

    to Temporary Internet Files :)

    --

    "I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey

  2. Hopefully not possesion by dj245 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Visitors to Shrubbery Porn may be in for a rude awakening when their bosses fire them for possesion of shrubbery porn on company computers.

    --
    Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
  3. Can't Tell by nmb3000 · · Score: 3, Funny

    This is a pretty tough one. I won't be able to decide until I see the evidence.

    --
    "What do you despise? By this are you truly known." --Princess Irulan, Manual of Muad'Dib
    /)
  4. Now I'm worried by mangu · · Score: 2, Funny
    I think it's absurd that someone could face 20 hours in prison for viewing illegal pictures for 4 hours


    You think that's "viewing"? FTA: A federal agent said Barton's computer contained more than 450 pornographic images


    From my computer:


    $ find graphics/xxx/ -name '*.jpg' | wc -l

    25584


    Now, That's what I call "viewing"!

  5. Re:Sophistry at its finest... by kooshvt · · Score: 2, Funny

    I gotta uh go to the ummm bathroom...to...molest pixels

    Well that one is just too easy...

    [insert 'penis size' joke here]

  6. why do I get the sudden feeling... by yagu · · Score: 3, Funny

    Why do I get the feeling that suddenly there are a few extra terabytes of free disk space across the country?

  7. Re:Holely Cheese by Acts+of+Attrition · · Score: 5, Funny

    Don't worry.
    All the guys I know whose girlfriends/wives also use the computer know EXACTLY what the cache is and how to clear it.

  8. Doh by nmb3000 · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's kiddie porn.

    And this children, is why one should RTFA.

    *cough*

    --
    "What do you despise? By this are you truly known." --Princess Irulan, Manual of Muad'Dib
    /)
  9. Re:A flurry of frame-ups? by mccoma · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think we need the "+1 Evil" moderation

  10. Re:Holely Cheese by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    that's why I do all my browser caching on a usb2 flash drive when I'm looking at illicit internet pictures that I don't want my girlfriend to know I'm looking at.

    Or at least I would. If I had a girlfriend, and wanted to look at illicit internet pictures and didn't want her to know it.

  11. Re:Holely Cheese by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    You could just write a small program that moves the mouse randomly for you.

  12. Re:Holely Cheese by exKingZog · · Score: 2, Funny

    Nah, my girlfriend loves pr0n as much as I do :p

    --
    "If he were a plant, people would roll him up and smoke him."