Maybe if these officers didn't waste the courts time with frivolous offenses like having a collection of mp3s or some text files, the courts wouldn't then have such a large caseload, and would be able to swiftly handle the true crimes.
I suspect that these heavy-handed enforcement practices will continue until they begin seizing the equipment of individuals with "highly-placed" contacts. No, not contacts in law enforcement but in the legislatures around the country. Some bad publicity goes a long way to changing attitudes, and the FBI isn't exactly the most admired federal agency right now.
The FBI chooses to characterize these "hackers" in stereotypical and fear-mongering ways. The real irony is when these people begin to use the same methods against them.
Slashdot Mirror
Maybe if these officers didn't waste the courts time with frivolous offenses like having a collection of mp3s or some text files, the courts wouldn't then have such a large caseload, and would be able to swiftly handle the true crimes.
I suspect that these heavy-handed enforcement practices will continue until they begin seizing the equipment of individuals with "highly-placed" contacts. No, not contacts in law enforcement but in the legislatures around the country. Some bad publicity goes a long way to changing attitudes, and the FBI isn't exactly the most admired federal agency right now.
The FBI chooses to characterize these "hackers" in stereotypical and fear-mongering ways. The real irony is when these people begin to use the same methods against them.