I'm not sure what word is more appropriate. Enticement? Persuasion?
Here's a horrid story that touches on our discussion in 2301 about the limits of free speech. Again from Today's Paper in Slate:
The NYT and LAT front news that a federal jury in Los Angeles convicted a woman in Missouri of three misdemeanor computer crimes after she set up a fictitious MySpace account in the name of a 16-year-old boy and used it to communicate with a 13-year-old girl. The girl committed suicide two years ago after the "boy" sent her a message saying, "The world would be a better place without you." The jury couldn't reach a verdict on the main charge of conspiracy so she now faces a possible three-year sentence. The NYT says that regardless of how much time she spends behind bars, the conviction is important because it's the first time that a "federal statute designed to combat computer crimes was used to prosecute what were essentially abuses of a user agreement on a social networking site." The LAT cites experts saying that the verdict makes social-networking sites responsible for monitoring users more closely. Some are worried the verdict could have far-reaching effects. "[I]t is now a crime to 'obtain information' from a Web site in violation of its terms of service," a former federal prosecutor tells the NYT. "This cannot be what Congress meant when it enacted the law, but now you have it."
Notice that she was convicted of abusing a user agreement on a social networking site. Could she have been convicted of man slaughter or some other charge? What did she do that was illegal (as opposed to simply morally repugnant)? All she did was communicate. We all have the right to speak freely right?
Right?
How can you effectively, constitutionally, punish this type of behavior?
