[LINK] using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence?

[Kim Holburn]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/new-internet-law-to-be-tested-by-skype-sex-claims/story-e6frg6nf-1226047248774

> New internet law to be tested by Skype sex claims
> 
> The charge laid against two young men involved in the Australian Defence Force Academy Skype scandal is a relatively new offence created to deal with crimes committed on the internet and social media sites.
> 
> Daniel McDonald, 19, and Dylan De Blaquiere, 18, were yesterday charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence.
> 
> Documents tendered to the ACT Magistrates Court allege Mr McDonald -- who is facing an additional charge of committing an act of indecency -- struck up an agreement to have consensual sex with a female cadet.
> 
> He then allegedly agreed to stream the sex act on Skype, without the 18-year-old woman's consent, at the behest of Mr De Blaquiere who said it would be a "f. . .kin' sick idea", police allege.
> 
> The charge of using a carriage service -- a cyber stalking offence under the federal criminal code enacted into law just two years ago -- carries a maximum penalty of three years' imprisonment.
> 
> The broad offence is designed to punish "online conduct that a reasonable person would find to be menacing, harassing or causing offence".
> 
> It was recently used against a Queensland woman who was convicted of posting obscene photographs on a Facebook tribute site. The woman received a suspended jail sentence for the crime, known as "internet trolling".
> 
> The director of communications law at the University of Technology, Sydney, Michael Fraser, said the ADFA case would be "very interesting" from an academic perspective, given that the law is still relatively untested.
> 
> "It is a fairly new crime," Professor Fraser said.
> 
> "This is a hallmark for the new technology and the way people are using new technology to see how our laws apply in this new digital environment.
> 
> "People need to think new technologies offer them immunity to the standards that apply . . . that somehow the internet is a territory that is above or outside of the law."
> 
> Neither Mr McDonald nor Mr De Blaquiere were required to enter a plea yesterday.
> 
> They were granted bail on strict conditions, which included having no contact with the complainant, whose name is suppressed, and the matter was adjourned until May 20.


-- 
Kim Holburn
IT Network & Security Consultant
T: +61 2 61402408  M: +61 404072753
mailto:kim at holburn.net  aim://kimholburn
skype://kholburn - PGP Public Key on request