I don't really know. I was speculating about the fraud part. I imagine that's why she can be charged. I read somewhere that she posted pretending to be him.
On Fri, Apr 16, 2010 at 12:09 PM, Keith Johnson <[email protected]>wrote: > > > I agree, the family dynamic is a big issue. > Can a parent be charged if that parent were to hack into the underage > child's account? In this case the dude left his computer logged in to > Facebook. What if his mother had intentionally gone looking for a password, > found it, and then accessed his account? Is that illegal? > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Tracy Curtis" <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Friday, April 16, 2010 12:00:59 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern > Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Teen Sues Mother for Facebook Harassment > > > > Keith, I was also wondering about this case. My very uninformed guess is > that she posted something while pretending to be him. Perhaps that along > with the hacking can be construed as fraud. People can be charged with that > no matter what their relationships with the people they attack. > > But it also seems that this family's situation is worse than the average > one in which a parent might monitor the kids' online activity. She seemed > to have little opportunity to reach him in person. And if his tales about > driving 95 mph are correct, the grandparents' influence isn't keeping him in > line. Maybe these charges will get him the kind of attention that will lead > him to take better care of himself. > > On Fri, Apr 16, 2010 at 10:26 AM, Keith Johnson <[email protected] > > wrote: > >> >> >> Interesting. I am a very liberal person, and certainly had major battles >> with my parents as I was growing up. I am a big fan of letting children grow >> and learn and stretch as much as possible, without constraining them more >> than necessary. Give them as much freedom as possible, I say. >> >> Still, I also believe that children are children, and subject to their >> parents' rules in the main. As much as I rebelled against my folks, i don't >> like seeing kids turn into arrogant little snots. So my gut reaction at >> first was to upset that a teen could take his mom to court for this. But the >> one thing that bothers me is not knowing exactly what the mother did that >> convinced the authorities to charge her. Frankly, her reading his Facebook >> account, even changing his password--that doesn't upset me as much if, as >> she said, she was alarmed at him revealing doing dangerous and irresponsible >> things. The advancement of technology and the growth of social networking, >> along with the associated change in mores, doesn't allow a minor to do >> anything he wants. The tech may change, but in one way this is no different >> than my parents telling me when to turn off the TV, picking up the extension >> when I was on the phone trying to talk to a girl and embarrassing me, or >> "overhearing" conversations with friends. And if stuff like Facebook did >> exist when I was a teen, you can be guaran-damn-teed that there'd be *no* >> way I'd have been allowed to make it private, lock my parents out, or not >> include them among my friends so they could read what I was posting. >> >> I'm assuming--even hoping--that the obviously dysfunctional nature of the >> family can lead one to assume the mother went way way over the line here. He >> doesn't seem close to his parents, they say the divorce was messy, and he >> only sees his mother every now and then. Did she make fun of her son in >> Facebook? Did she insult his friends? Did she make up lies and attribute >> them to him? Must have been something extreme for the law to get involved. >> At least, I hope, 'cause the last thing we need is for kids to start >> thinking they have the right to privacy when their under eighteen, just >> because they can now create password-protected social networking accounts. >> >> I wanna follow this one just to make sure Arkansas isn't setting a >> troubling precedent, but given that state's social leanings, I can't believe >> they'd be on the liberal side of privacy law interpretations for kids... >> >> >> **************************************************************************************** >> >> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1264604/Boy-sues-mother-Facebook-harassment-argues-parental-duty.html >> Boy, 16, sues his mother for harassing him on Facebook as she argues it's >> her 'parental duty' >> >> By Paul >> Thompson<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Paul+Thompson> >> Last updated at 8:13 AM on 9th April 2010 >> [image: g] >> >> 'It's just like going through his bedroom... it's my duty': Denise New, >> who is being sued by her son Lane for going through his Facebook page >> >> A teenager has taken his mother to court for logging on to his Facebook >> page and reading about his private life. >> >> Denise New has been charged with harassment after her 16-year-old son, >> Lane, said he wanted criminal charges filed against his mother for her >> 'snooping'. >> >> The teenager claims his mother changed his password on his Facebook >> account after he accidentally left his computer on. >> >> He also said she posted slanderous comments and changed the password to >> his email so he can no longer receive updates to his page. >> >> The teenager, who lives with his grandmother following his parents' messy >> divorce, made a complaint with prosecutors in Arkansas after the incident >> last month. >> >> Prosecutors agreed with the teenager and charged Mrs New under the state's >> harassment laws. >> >> The high tech family row began after Lane accidentally left his computer >> on while visiting his mother at her home in the town of Arkadelphia. >> >> The 42-year-old became concerned about several entries, including one in >> which he son wrote about driving home at 95mph after an argument with his >> girlfriend. >> >> She also read some other postings, which bothered her so much she decided >> to change the password barring her son's access to the account. >> >> Mrs New said she was simply performing her parental duties, and looking at >> the Facebook page, was the same as going through his bedroom. >> [image: fc] >> >> Right to privacy? Lane claims his mother had slandered him >> >> She said: 'You're within your legal rights to monitor your child and to >> have a conversation with your child on Facebook whether it's his account, or >> your account or whoever's account. >> >> 'I read things on his Facebook about how he had gone to Hot Springs one >> night and was driving 95 m.p.h. home because he was upset with a girl and it >> was his friend that called me and told me about all this. >> >> 'That prompted me to even actually start really going through his Facebook >> to see what was going on.' >> >> Her son disagreed with his mother's views and has asked not to have >> further contact with her. >> >> In his criminal complaint, he wrote: 'Denise first hacked my Facebook and >> changed my password. She also changed the password to my e-mail so I could >> not change it. She posted things that involve slander and personal facts >> about my life.' >> >> State prosecutor Todd Turner refused to comment on the case but cited >> Arkansas harassment laws that 'a person commits the offence if he engages in >> conduct or repeatedly commits acts that alarm or seriously annoy another >> person.' >> >> Mrs New, who has visitation rights to her son while her parents have >> custodial rights, plans to contest the charge when she appears in court next >> month. >> She said: 'I'm going to fight it. If I have to go even higher up, I'm >> going to. I'm not gonna let this rest. I think this could be a >> precedent-setting moment for parents. >> >> >> > >
