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Ask Jennifer Granick About Computer Crime Defense
Attorney Jennifer Granick has defended many high profile hackers, including researcher Christopher Soghoian, creator of a fake boarding pass generator (2006); Michael Lynn versus Cisco/ISS (2005); Jerome Heckenkamp; and Luke Smith and Nelson Pavlosky in Online Policy Group v. Diebold Election Systems (now Premier Election Solutions), a copyright misuse case related to electronic voting. Granick also won an exemption from the U.S. Copyright Office in 2006 allowing phone unlocking despite the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which set the stage for renewal of the exemption and for the jailbreaking exemption in 2009. At Stanford, Granick worked with Lawrence Lessig on constitutional copyright cases and taught six years worth of law students about computers, technology and civil liberties. While Civil Liberties Director at the EFF, Granick started the Coders' Rights Project and participated in litigation against ATT and the federal government for violation of surveillance regulations. Now an attorney at ZwillGen PLLC, Granick assists individuals and companies creating new products and services. And now, she's graciously agreed to answer your questions. Please, as usual, ask as many questions as you'd like, but confine each question to a separate post.
Should the exemption granted for jailbreaking cell phones apply to game consoles like the Xbox 360 and PS3 as well?
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
How much does it cost to defend against these sorts of lawsuits?
Is is possible to get a fair Jury trial for these highly technical cases? It seems like the prosecution would generally aim to eject any jurors remotely technical, and the general public is highly susceptible to sensationalization because of how technology and hacking is portrayed in the media.
Advising clients on EULAs, Terms of Use, and related contract issues;
What do you tell your clients (who apparently include Blizzard Entertainment, Square Enix, Disney and Zynga) when that "thing" I agree to before playing their game is unreadable and painfully lengthy? Are you providing them more legalese or are you saying, "Look, no gamer is going to 1) sit down and read all of this and 2) have the background to comprehend some of these terms." Because right now, in the software world, those EULAs are a complete joke. Is your firm making any positive headway on shoring up that gap between the understandings of both company lawyer and end user? If so, how?
My work here is dung.
Hi Jennifer. To what extent can lack of a login "banner" (disclaimer defining usage guidelines, monitoring and prohibiting unauthorized access, etc) can be used as defense by someone who has unlawfully gained access to that system? I have heard of past cases where system "welcome" statements have been interpreted as an invitation to use a system, but does this apply inversely to lack of system "unwelcome" statement? Thanks.
Bow before me, for I am root.
Hi Jennifer, what are your thoughts on the recent Sony PSN Terms of Service revision including a class-action lawsuit waiver? Is this legal? Sure the consumer can decide not to buy their product, but what about those who already paid for their PlayStations? Furthermore - what if every other company follows suit and consumers are no longer able to seek retribution for identity theft, data loss or even physical harm caused by any product (sure they can individually sue, but who has the money to hire a lawyer to take on Sony's legal team)? This sounds like a very bad practice to go undisputed. Thanks.
Bow before me, for I am root.
Do you agree that, for many people who are wrongly accused, it is cheaper to settle or plea than to fight and win?
And if you do, how will you suggest to fix the system?