3A Prompt: Name several types of crimes and torts that can be committed via computer. Can you provide any examples from the news or current events?
AH: There are several types of crimes that can be committed using the computer. Certain crimes that are committed via computer are called cyber torts. Cyber tort is a crime that takes place domestically. Samriti (2019) says, “During the past decade, American tort law is beginning to evolve to address online injuries such as Internet defamation, e-mail stalking, spamming, and trespassing on web sites.” Some other examples of cyber-crimes include harassment, spoofing, fraud, and cyber terrorism. Cyber terrorism is different from cyber tort because cyber terrorism involves the entire world. It involves attacks on the internet and it is a threat to computer networks. Another crime is harassment. It occurs when a person sends threatening emails to another person. Stalking can happen when a person is constantly pursuing another person on the computer. Another cyber-crime is Email spoofing. Spoofing happens when a person sends an email from a different account to be deceptive. People also commit fraud online by deceiving the public. Fraud commonly occurs when a person coerces another person to provide their credit card information with the intent to steal their money. Lastly, defamation on the computer occurs when a person sends information about another person that could ruin their reputation. Celebrities have been accused of committing defamation after posting derogatory comments about others on social media. Elon Musk, Kevin Hart, and Rosanne Barr are a few celebrities who tweeted comments on Twitter that were offensive to others. Singer, Courtney Love, was sued and had to pay for the comments that she had made on social media
KD: Some crimes and torts that can be committed via computer are viruses, invasion of privacy (hacking systems such as healthcare systems and getting names and addresses), identity theft, cyberstalking, and infringement. For infringement, things like infringing on the rightful owner of copyrights and trademarks for computer software and programs. Another type of infringement is on things like trade secrets. Trade secrets are held near and dear to organizations and with how computers are playing integral parts of how businesses operate, retrieving trade secrets illegally is a huge concern that can lead to being tried for the crime. A recent crime was the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack that happened in 2021. Other cases from 2021 include Facebook and LinkedIn. Computer crimes have been on the rise and are only going to be getting worse. They’re going to be getting worse for several reasons. Some reasons include the world being more digitalized, the people using computers for bad are able to cover their tracks better (between how computers are advancing and the fact of it being harder to be sued), and the fact it is harder to sue someone. For it being harder to sue someone over the fact of computer crimes is because it can be difficult to convict a person of the crime because of the computer being the tool of the crime and in turn the legal system playing catch-up on this aspect. This is partly why things like the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, and the Title III of the 1968 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act – amended by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (Business Law, page 619) came to be.
3B Prompt: 1. How is a check different from other drafts?
2. What are the requirements for an instrument to be negotiable? In your answer, give an example of a negotiable instrument and a non-negotiable instrument from your experience.
As you reply, add on to your discussion through the following:
How do the requirements of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act effect your understanding of negotiable instruments?
