Online Violations and Offenses
Violations and offenses committed online may not be as intuitive as crimes being committed offline. As most people in the modern world utilize the internet daily, users must understand what is illegal to avoid becoming oblivious offenders. Some illegal violations include….
1. Using unofficial streaming services to access free content. This type of content usually needs to be paid for, such as a new movie or premium sports games. This violates copyright laws and ultimately becomes problematic for audiences because if more users stream content for free illegally, the content producers will have little to no capital to produce more work.
2. Another illegal online behavior that users might be unaware of is online bullying and trolling. This is a phenomenon that is extremely prevalent on social media sites and has caused the creation of laws to address the matter of cyberbullying. This illegal act has serious effects as there have been far too many situations where cyberbullying has caused a victim to commit suicide. Bullying has always been an issue in society; however, the internet can easily hide the bully (being anonymous) and hide the effects it has on victims.
3. Faking your identity online by posing to be someone else is identity fraud. This is a serious offense as identifying to be someone else online while committing crimes is a way offenders shield themselves from the consequences of their actions. It also becomes challenging for the victim to conduct their normal life once they have discovered that their identity has been stolen. They can feel extremely violated and may have trouble conducting necessary life functions such as taking out a loan, opening a bank account, or applying for a job due to the ramifications of the misuse of their identity.
4. Collecting Information about people younger than 13 is a violation of the Children’s Online Protection Act. This becomes problematic as children can easily lie about their age to access content online. This is a serious concern as children can be exposed to illicit content that can negatively affect their developing minds.
5. Illegal searches on the internet like looking up child pornography, hiring a criminal, or other questionable searches will no doubt get a user in trouble as searches are monitored by authorities. This is a serious violation as it shows the user’s intent on possible other offenses that they could make online or offline.
Users may feel a false sense of anonymity while surfing online, however, that is not always the case as certain online protocols can identify users. Users must understand their rights as well as their responsibilities while utilizing the internet to help create a fair and just environment for all users.