Re: CyberPatrol sues cryptanalysts who revealed flaws in itssoftware

[Michael Froomkin - U.Miami School of Law]

I think there may be a claim in defamation if your site was blocked and
the software claims you have some kind of nasty content...



On Thu, 16 Mar 2000, William Allen Simpson wrote:

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> I finally took the time to read the whole (very long) web page, and it 
> is quite interesting -- I wish that all analysis had such detailed 
> explanations!  Any above-average congress-critter should be able to 
> understand quite a bit of it. ;-)
> 
> The Merc report says:
> 
>   In its legal filings, Microsystems said it suffered ``irreparable harm'' 
>   from the publication of the bypassing software, which it said sought 
>   to destroy the market for its product by rendering it ineffective.
> 
> Is there a right for snake oil salesmen to profit from a questionable 
> product?  As the report shows, the hashing and encryption functions 
> didn't meet any standard well-known design requirements.  And many 
> sites are improperly blocked, while many other sites are missing.
> 
> Instead, isn't there a civil cause of action by all the purchasers of 
> the product?  It manifestly doesn't do what the marketing promises.
> 
> I'd also encourage state attorney's general to take action, as the 
> researchers found that half of the blocked sites didn't exist, or 
> were improperly blocked.  When a manufacturer ships 100,000 units, 
> but they are half filled with rocks, isn't that fraud?
> 
> And a fine example of using cryptography to hide the fraud.  Good thing 
> that extra criminal penalty didn't pass last year....
> 
> Also, couldn't we put together a class action by the folks that were 
> improperly blocked or classified.  Anti-competitive, damage to 
> reputation, etc.  Could be some nice punative damages.  
> 
> 
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-- 

A. Michael Froomkin   |    Professor of Law    |   [EMAIL PROTECTED]
U. Miami School of Law, P.O. Box 248087, Coral Gables, FL 33124 USA
+1 (305) 284-4285  |  +1 (305) 284-6506 (fax)  |  http://www.law.tm
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