Broadband Tech > Security > Security > Is it legal to give fake information on the Internet?

Is it legal to give fake information on the Internet?

reply to doesitmatter

Think that may depend on ones location.

In the U.S. I highly doubt it. Though I have no official knowledge either way on the subject.

reply to doesitmatter
in the usa, terms of service are not laws. it is not illegal.

reply to doesitmatter
No law against it what so ever.

reply to doesitmatter
I just wing it:
For example I just pull an email outta thin air and use it to join a web site. That has stopped for many places out there, because now they send you an activation link.

I used to use an email lie: catslovedogs111@sniffmybutt.com
And surprisingly it would get accepted. But now that is pretty much gone.
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Is a person a failure for doing nothing? Or is he a failure for trying, and not succeeding at what he is attempting to do? What did you fail at today?.

reply to doesitmatter
I used to belong to a forum that required us to consent to background checks (including online monitoring) due to the nature of the discussions involved. The law required administration to have PII (Personally Identifying Information) on its members due to the nature of what was being discussed -- so I understand how this works a bit for my own situation.

The law involved goes beyond this forum and depends on country of residence so I will speak universally (I see a greek email, for example).

Its not illegal to intentionally mislead people with false information in a public profile, but it wont do any good for your reputation in social interactions. It may also wind up having you removed from the service or website if its found you have broken any Terms of Service. You have no legal recourse if this happens.

Public profiles though, are usually optional and in 90% of the communities I belong to you can leave most information completely blank. This is a much more polite way of maintaining your "public privacy" then filling it in with information that can conflict with your postings.

(people get really good with being able to root that out)

This can include an email address though as long as the service is acceptable to administration and it works you can use whatever you want (as long as the address is in good taste). Most places will let you hide this as well.

Most poeple assume, that if your deliberately providing false information your up to no good. Its a technique that people who wish to do "harm" use to hide themselves from retribution. Plus you would be caught in your own lie. It varies from community to community though and depends on the material being handled or discussed.

Depending on your activity(ies) this can put you in "breach of trust" which has the potential of civil issues (though nothing criminal) if things go really wrong...

Proper trade-craft is a bit more subtle then outright lying, involves a bit more finesse and very tight control on how you post and interact through such services.

Email traces can be easily averted by setting up multiple "single purpose" emails across multiple services (when multiple accounts are allowed) and tightly controlling which is used for what. This allows you to have "several" identities (such as a professional, vs multiple social) without having to provide false information.

For setting up an email like Gmail. Google asks you for real life information for administration purposes. This is of course only between you and google and the public can't see it. Its private unless it asks you for any "PROFILE" information.

Your level of trust on "private" may vary.

They may also have to LEGALLY verify your country (for laws related to content and copyright, date of birth, IP address (rarely) or other specified info (like Google Wallet). You can give false information here and still obtain an account but Google will remove it if anything trips them off you are not providing accurate information.

It's a try your own risk thing.

And since the Gmail account can be used on Youtube, Instant Messenger, Blogger, Groups, and Google+ you will have a public profile attached to the email that "the curious public" will see. You can set that accordingly, like anywhere else.

reply to doesitmatter
Is it legal to give fake information on the Internet?

If you have not noticed yet, Internet is full of fake information, misleading data, misconceptions, marketing and such... So, you won't be the first one, who adds the mess there.
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Keep it simple, it'll become complex by itself...

reply to doesitmatter
Bonjour!

With regards to the US, for something to be illegal, you have to break a law. So which law requires you to provide correct info? How would this be any different then when a writer publishes under a pseudonym?

This applies not only on the internet but in general in person as well. In some jurisdictions, but NOT all, you can even lie to a local police officer and you are NOT committing a crime, unless your lie relates to some criminal activity or its investigation. I believe, though, that you CANNOT lie to federal officers. Mind you, I wouldn't recommend it, but the issue is whether you would be breaking a law or not.

It usually isn't the false information that's the issue, but the intent. If you intend to deceive someone to gain something, then you commit fraud.

Giving a fake name, address, email, birthday, etc., particularly on the internet, could be deemed to be simply protecting your privacy. Since companies ILLEGALLY disclose this information sometimes without your permission, and what chance would you have to prove it, prevention is probably your best recourse. Why would they need to know your birthday, other than the year to know if you are of legal age to enter into a contact?

Breaking a TOS can be considered criminal in the US. The CFAA and other anti-hacking laws have been sometimes interpreted to include breaching TOS, e.g. providing false information.

That's why the EFF and ACLU have been trying to change the law such that a breach of contract cannot be considered criminal.

reply to doesitmatter

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Is it legal to give fake information on the internet?

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reply to Anonymous1

reply to red2

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That’s when prosecutors in Los Angeles sought to indict Drew, charging her with unauthorized access to MySpace’s computers, using a federal anti-hacking statute known as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Prosecutors charged that Drew was guilty of the crime by violating MySpace’s terms-of-service agreement when she and her co-conspirators allegedly provided false information to open the account and pose online as the 16-year-old boy.

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reply to neochu

reply to doesitmatter
I think it depends on what the site is used for. On a government website it could be illegal. On the general internet no you can give fake names all you want. The very fact you can post to this site as an anon user is proof of that.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports

reply to doesitmatter
There are very few places where I don't give false info. However, that, too, depends upon the site and what it's used for. I don't care if it's legal. To me, it's simply a 'white lie', and while some might consider it wrong, fie on them. There is little enough that can be done for a small amount of privacy on the computer, and even false info isn't private. My thought is obviously, yes, go for it! Does it matter? Only if it does to you, personally.
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JKK

Age is a very high price to pay for my maturity. If I can't stay young, I can at least stay immature!

»www.pbase.com/jaykaykay

reply to Snakeoil