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1500 questions
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Is it legal to hack a hacker back (in the US)?
I was wondering if it's legal to do what most people call a "hack back." Suppose someone tricked you into downloading software onto your computer that was designed to steal your data, but it was advertised as an online security software. Then you…
Blue Herring
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Is it illegal for a US voter to disclose their ballot choices?
This is a follow-on question from Politics SE, wherein several participants claimed that it was illegal for a voter to divulge their own ballot choices. As this is purely a question of law, rather than politics, this issue is more appropriate for…
BobE
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Can lawyers ask about, and discriminate based on, iPhone ownership during a case involving Apple?
In the lawsuit(s) between Epic and Apple, assuming it ends up in front of a (federal) jury, are the lawyers for each side allowed to ask potential jurors whether they have iPhones or Android phones; and, on the other side, are they allowed to ask…
Joe
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What's the impact of this late fee typo?
My landlord has a late fee clause in our lease, which says that if the lessee is late with the rent, the lessor must pay a (poorly defined) late fee.
What would be the effect of this clause?
The lessor pays the late fee to themselves, making the…
David
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Answering "Do you have anything to declare?" to customs in the absence of any explanation of the question
On some occasions, when a traveler goes through US customs, there are electronic self-serve kiosks or paper forms with detailed customs questions about what you are carrying (currency, goods, food, etc.), and there are statements warning about…
FlanMan
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Has anyone been convicted of perjury for false DMCA takedown notices?
When a copyright holder demands that infringing material be taken down, the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) paragraph 3A(vi) requires:
A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the…
Paul Johnson
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Sputnik-era NSF-funded books: is this a license?
In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, which also had the unintended side effect of launching frantic attempts in the US to reform math and science education. A common pattern in these efforts was that the National Science Foundation encouraged…
user3392
15
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3 answers
Withholding information about a problem as extortion - computer security research
Over at Security.StackExchange, a discussion broke out over the use of the term "extortion" in a situation where an anonymous security professional sent an email to a business to say that they found a vulnerability in the business' website, but the…
schroeder
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Does the New York State Governor have the authority to impose fines?
The New York State Governor has allegedly declared a "fine for violations of the state's social distancing protocol from $500 to $1,000...."
The government website claiming that declaration references a March 20 executive order ("New York State on…
feetwet
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Are Putin's constitution amendments legal?
Putin is shaking up the constitution and there were reports suggesting that the process, as well as the amendments themselves, are probably unlawful/illegal despite the Constitutional Court's ruling stating otherwise. Speaking strictly from a legal…
Sergey Zolotarev
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Statutory authority to order business to close their doors
In Maryland, Governor Hogan just ordered with "the full force of law" all restaurants, bars, movie theaters, gyms, etc. to close their doors to the public starting at 5 p.m.
What is his statutory authority to do this? I've read the MEMA code (§ 14),…
John Chase
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Why aren't email providers liable in some way or another for scams operated via accounts on their domains?
Suppose a spam email tells you that you've earned $1m. To get the funds the email goes on to tell you to email joe.schmoe@gmail.com. My question revolves around why Gmail doesn't block "joe.schmoe@gmail.com" on the spot when it detects such an…
Denis de Bernardy
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Both parties have retained a lawyer, what if the other party still communicates to me directly?
The other party started to use a lawyer, and then I retained a lawyer and responded to their letter.
But what if they still contact me directly about the matters lawyers are dealing with?
What type of wording should I use to write back to them?
Tom
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What is the legal theory which allows members of active military service to be legislators?
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is a Hawaii Army National Guard major. She is also a serving member of the House of Representatives.
On the face of it, it seems to be a violation of the separation of powers for any person to retain an officer commission while…
grovkin
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My child's name is "Robert'); drop table *;--" Am I in trouble?
(Source: https://xkcd.com/327/)
So with the upcoming birth of my first child, I suggested the name "Robert'); drop table *;--". While I was quickly told that wasn't going to happen, I have to wonder what could happen if he was actually named…
Kommissar
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