Should Burger King Be Prosecuted For Their Google Home-Triggering Ads? (washingtonpost.com)

Slashdot reader Lauren Weinstein thinks Burger King should be prosecuted for successfully running an alternate version of its advertisement to trigger Google Home devices again Wednesday: Someone -- or more likely a bunch of someones -- at Burger King and their advertising agency need to be arrested, tried, and spend some time in shackles and prison cells. They've likely been violating state and federal cybercrime laws with their obnoxious ad campaign... For example, the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act broadly prohibits anyone from accessing a computer without authorization... Burger King has instantly become the 'poster child' for mass, criminal abuse of these devices... It was a direct and voluntary violation of law.

Comments

Re:Burger King did WHAT??!

[dfghjk]

Just as it should be. BK isn't "legitimizing triggering digital assistants", they are exposing serious flaws in poorly thought out technology. BK is not to be blamed but thanked; the people who would allow themselves to be exposed to such triggering and the companies that makes the shoddy products are the problem.

Re: Big raise for assaulting a customer too?

[Entrope]

Nope. United's Contact of Carriage explicitly lists the conditions where they can remove a seated customer without consent, and none of those apply. They contacted away their right to declare the passenger as a trespasser.

Moreover, the airport police were not acting within the scope of their police duties at the time. They were instead acting as agents of United, and as such, the principal (United) shares responsibilities for their actions.