Are you a computer cracker?

[ciphergoth]

The US Government propose to enact legislation that makes breaking into computer systems (sometimes inaccurately known as "hacking") a crime carrying a life sentence, without parole (http://www.securityfocus.com/news/257). Providing assistance to computer crackers (say, by publishing a cryptanalysis of a fielded system) carries the same sentence. Check the link below to see if you might be a computer cracker.

You are now.
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ERLA: End Reader License Agreement

The terms and conditions that follow set forth a legal agreement between you (either an individual or an entity), the end user, and Paul Crowley, relating to the computer messages known as "postings" and "email", as well as related technologies such as "Live Journal Postings". You may not load or use the message in any computer or copy it without a license from Paul Crowley. You should carefully read these terms and conditions BEFORE loading the message in software by any means (including loading the message on a Web browser to view it). Loading or using the message will signify your agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions. This is a license agreement and not an agreement for sale.

You further agree that this Agreement is the complete and exclusive statement of your agreement with the poster relating to the posted message and supersedes any other agreement, oral or written, or any other communications between you and the poster relating to the posted or emailed message; provided, however, that this Agreement shall not supersede the terms of any signed agreement between you and the poster relating to the posted or emailed message.

(Thanks to Jim Patrick <jpatrick@shentel.net> for the bulk of this text; I've edited it slightly. I don't know if this is applicable in the UK, but it will certainly work in any state where the evil UCITA (http://www.4cite.org/) has become law, such as Virginia.)

Comments

[ergotia.livejournal.com]

This is the scariest thing I have seen all year, including the WTC fallout, and the only thing I have seen for a long time that has made me ask the question "how can we mobilise against this?"

[lizw.livejournal.com]

Doesn't work in English contract law. Nice try, though.

[purplerabbits.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Isn't there anything in the actual constitution preventing people being tricked into being bound by a contract before they've read it? I seem to remember reading somewhere that lot of software licenses are unconstitutional, but that could be bullshit.

[mrph.livejournal.com]

I don't know about the Constitution, but it's certainly something that Microsoft are wary of, so I guess there are some safeguards in place.

Their contracts specify that the end user has to be somehow pointed at the EULA and given a chance to back out before they switch on the machine, at least with PDAs etc (I've not seen any other MS contracts to compare them to).

A huge opaque sticker, completely covering the screen, with text saying "Read the EULA first!" seems to work nicely... :)

[ergotia.livejournal.com]

Hee hee! for a contract to be enforcable in English law there needs to be offer, acceptance, consideration and intention to create legal relations. Even when those are present you can probably get out of it if you can prove you entered into it under duress. Gets the point across though!

PS: consideration as a legal concept, very roughly speaking, means a mutual exchange of promises eg X promises to mow the lawn each week, Y promises to pay.

[ex-meta.livejournal.com]

A few months ago, I was using an online e-commerce site, and discovered that the site was exposing the name, address and credit card details of previous customers. All you had to do was hit submit with the form left blank. I immediately found a phone number for the company, and told them.

Today, I'd just go to another site and not tell anybody. The possible legal consequences if they decided to sue me mean that it just wouldn't be worth the risk of doing the right thing.

But surely...

[kingginger.livejournal.com]

...there has to be a "cooling off" period -

There is one in retail laws isn't there?

So - Surely something similar would apply??

But heh - I suppose when was the last time "we" read a EULA?

Laterz

Jules