Thursday, June 11, 2015

US anti-fraud law makes deleting browser history a crime punishable by 20yrs in jail...

An old law has come to the forefront, and it's being applied in a way that could affect what you do on your PC. In a case close to the Boston Marathon bombings, a federal court will decide if the deletion of browser history was an obstruction of justice.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was signed into law by President Bush in 2002, largely in response to the 2001 Enron scandal. Though it deals mostly with corporate financial reporting, it is now being used for an entirely different purpose.

Khairullozhon Matanov, a former taxi driver and acquaintance of the Boston Marathon bombers, is due in court next week. But it's not because he knew about the bombings beforehand, or because he participated in the attacks.

Instead, his crime was deleting his browser history in the days following the bombings. He's been charged with obstruction of justice for the deed, and could spend the next 20 years in prison.

 Prosecutors are clutching to one section of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which details severe penalties for "destroying, mutilating, concealing, falsifying records, documents, or tangible objects" with intent to impede or stall a federal investigation. Full story...

Related posts:
  1. Google makes it easier to understand what data you're giving it...
  2. De-Google your life: it’s worth the hassle if you value your privacy...
  3. The US government has betrayed the internet. We need to take it back...
  4. New York woman visited by police after researching pressure cookers online...
  5. Americans more afraid of their govt than a terrorist attack...

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