Quote:
Originally Posted by pflfranco
Nothing at all that you're doing is illegal? (Providing links of security cameras set up in people's homes) Serious question.
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It's a legal grey area. There are a number of inconsistencies with many laws concerning computer misuse, and intent is often very important to consider.
For certain, two of the three computer misuse laws in my country (UK) do not apply...those being the "unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences" and "unauthorised modification of computer material". I'm not accessing these feeds with any malicious intent; the project is purely academic and meant as an eye-opener to people who set up security cams. Furthermore, I'm not modifying any computer material by accessing the feeds either.
The one law that could possibly apply is really a watered down version of the first I mentioned; the more general "unauthorised access to computer material". This is where the grey area arises. Am I accessing these feeds unauthorised? Well, certainly I didn't get explicit authorisation to access them, but they are on the web and found through Google. The purpose of these cameras is to broadcast a feed to the Internet. If a person wanted to secure that feed, they could, and these are simply feeds that (for one reason or another) are not protected.
That said, if the police come to my door and inform me that the viewer is illegal, I'll happily take it down without a fuss. Although I don't want it to come to a trial, I think the combination of various factors (lack of malicious intent, clean criminal record, and my work in the security industry) would convince a judge / jury that I'm not some dangerous person who deserves to be punished for what anyone with access to Google could do.
