Jermiah Robinson
April 10th, 2024
CYSE 201S – Cybersecurity
Illegal Activities Online
Breaking the law has become a more common occurrence online as the internet continues to grow and prosper. Examples can be seen with what used to be Twitter is now X, which has issues of online harassment, racism, and various other issues that are not being targeted and handled. However, some of these laws that get broken are actually normal occurrences in everyday people. From cyberbullying to illegal searches, downloads of music through YouTube, using copyrighted images and even sharing passwords with others.
While images posted online, most people state that for all extents and purposes that the images are not copyrighted, however these images always have an owner, and they are allowed to actually push for a copyright claim on the material. It is still their property after all, and permission is needed from the owner to actually be used in personal or economical reasons like in businesses. (Slynchuk 2021)
Cyberbullying is a growing matter that continues to get popular as society pushes forward into the digital age. There are actually laws with cyberbullying and harassment which could potentially lead into being a criminal charge and potential jail time be served. Websites as well hold the authority over users and can suspend or ban users from the website as it is not a violation of free speech. (Slynchuk 2021)
Illegal searches are also actually under law too as well, and recently government officials have been looking into ways to log this online history without the user knowing. Searching online with certain terms could actually put people on a list, leading to potentially getting arrested. Even certain browsers will assist authorities with seeing this information and preventing possible serious offenses from being seen. (Slynchuk 2021)
Downloading videos from YouTube and either re-uploading them or for music is also under copyright and DMCA. Any of this content that would then be used either for monetization or for saving music can lead to the video in question being taken down and potential channel deletion from stealing this content. (Slynchuk 2021)
Lastly, sharing passwords, photos and addresses of/from people is actually a very dangerous offense. Without consent at all, this could actually lead to some legal action from the person and if the address was posted for example, could land a person right into prison from law enforcement. Sharing this type of information is confidential, and even photos unless in a public place is a legal offense without consent. (Slynchuk 2021)
In conclusion, these offenses while normally not really reported as much except illegal searches, are actually punishable and should be kept in mind when browsing and interacting with the web. Even simple minor offenses could lead to potential jail time and a possible criminal charge if not handled properly and or if information is posted online without consent. The internet is still growing as more laws are created for the various offenses online.
Works Cited
Slynchuk, A. (2021, July 1). 11 illegal things you unknowingly do on the internet. Clario. https://clario.co/blog/illegal-things-you-do-online/