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Are Programmers Responsible For the Actions of Their Clients?

Posted by timothy on from the ok-now-let's-talk-tortkey dept.

Bobfrankly1 writes "Robert Stuart and his company Extensions Software are being charged by New York authorities, claiming he is promoting gambling in New York because of the actions of his clients. They are charging him after he rejected a plea agreement that would have him plead guilty to lesser charges, adding backdoors to his software, and using said backdoors to gather details on his clients and their customers." Another article on the case at Salon.

1 of 222 comments (clear)

  1. The actual charge by DragonWriter · · Score: 4, Informative

    Good question, did he or did he not know what it will be used for?Or should I put, are there any evidence that he did know?

    The actual charge (rather than Stuart's characterization of it) is that Stuart and his employees "knowingly advanced and profited from unlawful gambling activity by engaging in bookmaking to the extent that they received and accepted in any one day more than five bets totaling more than five thousand dollars."

    Not that they provided software which the purchaser of the software used (with or without their knowledge) to accept bets, but that Stuart and his employees actually received and accepted bets.

    If Stuart is to be convicted, they will need to prove that charge to a jury.