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Showing Original Post only (View all)Rolling Stone: Barrett Brown Faces 105 Years in Jail. But no one can figure out what law he broke. [View all]
Introducing America's least likely political prisoner:http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/barrett-brown-faces-105-years-in-jail-20130905
Encountering Barrett Brown's story in passing, it is tempting to group him with other Anonymous associates who have popped up in the news for cutting pleas and changing sides. Brown's case, however, is a thing apart. Although he knew some of those involved in high-profile "hacktivism," he is no hacker. His situation is closer to the runaway prosecution that destroyed Aaron Swartz, the programmer-activist who committed suicide in the face of criminal charges similar to those now being leveled at Brown. But unlike Swartz, who illegally downloaded a large cache of academic articles, Brown never broke into a server; he never even leaked a document. His primary laptop, sought in two armed FBI raids, was a miniature Sony netbook that he used for legal communication, research and an obscene amount of video-game playing. The most serious charges against him relate not to hacking or theft, but to copying and pasting a link to data that had been hacked and released by others.
"What is most concerning about Barrett's case is the disconnect between his conduct and the charged crime," says Ghappour. "He copy-pasted a publicly available link containing publicly available data that he was researching in his capacity as a journalist. The charges require twisting the relevant statutes beyond recognition and have serious implications for journalists as well as academics. Who's allowed to look at document dumps?"
Brown's case is a bellwether for press freedoms in the new century, where hacks and leaks provide some of our only glimpses into the technologies and policies of an increasingly privatized national security-and-surveillance state. What Brown did through his organization Project PM was attempt to expand these peepholes. He did this by leading group investigations into the world of private intelligence and cybersecurity contracting, a $56 billion industry that consumes 70 percent of the U.S. intelligence budget.
"Barrett was an investigative journalist who was merely doing his professional duty," says Christophe Deloire of Reporters Without Borders. "The sentence that he is facing is absurd and dangerous."
"What is most concerning about Barrett's case is the disconnect between his conduct and the charged crime," says Ghappour. "He copy-pasted a publicly available link containing publicly available data that he was researching in his capacity as a journalist. The charges require twisting the relevant statutes beyond recognition and have serious implications for journalists as well as academics. Who's allowed to look at document dumps?"
Brown's case is a bellwether for press freedoms in the new century, where hacks and leaks provide some of our only glimpses into the technologies and policies of an increasingly privatized national security-and-surveillance state. What Brown did through his organization Project PM was attempt to expand these peepholes. He did this by leading group investigations into the world of private intelligence and cybersecurity contracting, a $56 billion industry that consumes 70 percent of the U.S. intelligence budget.
"Barrett was an investigative journalist who was merely doing his professional duty," says Christophe Deloire of Reporters Without Borders. "The sentence that he is facing is absurd and dangerous."
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Rolling Stone: Barrett Brown Faces 105 Years in Jail. But no one can figure out what law he broke. [View all]
Luminous Animal
Dec 2013
OP
I was going to write that there are no words for this, but you're right.
woo me with science
Dec 2013
#49
Too bad, when they catch one, more take their place. The more they try to destroy freedoms the more
sabrina 1
Dec 2013
#4
What utter nonsense, seriously. Clearly you did not read the article or for that matter, know
sabrina 1
Dec 2013
#36
Either you didn't read the article or you're cruel beyond comprehension
DisgustipatedinCA
Dec 2013
#5
It's a whitewashing of his association with a cyber terrorist organization. nt
politichew
Dec 2013
#15
What's disgusting is their irregard for the rule of law and targeting of military families. nt
politichew
Dec 2013
#10
Your misunderestimate of my strategery wee-wee'd up your refudiation...heh...heh.... n/t
xocet
Dec 2013
#60
Post ONE incident by Anon to back up that claim. I'll wait .... probably forever!
sabrina 1
Dec 2013
#37
When you threaten an FBI agent...and his kids...and post those threats to YouTube,
msanthrope
Dec 2013
#56
Well..in your defense, the OP omitted the homophobic rant and the credit card hacking---
msanthrope
Dec 2013
#59
Not to worry for our Constitution proscribes cruel and unusual punishment: wait, junior reminded us
indepat
Dec 2013
#17
Maybe you and I could be at the fore-front of DUers voicing opposition to trashing our Constitution
indepat
Dec 2013
#41
I would be happy to do so. I do whenever I see it and sady I have over the past few years.
sabrina 1
Dec 2013
#44
I certainly did with gusto when junior trashed our Constitution and feel BHO deserves no less as do
indepat
Dec 2013
#62
We all did when junior trashed it, but a few seem to have joined the trashing lately. It appears
sabrina 1
Dec 2013
#63