Do interactions with a chatbot that requires you to enter your name with an “internet identifier” have to be reported? What about signing up with a local news site so you can comment on a story? IP address? The possibilities are virtually limitless, which means subscribers must record the identifier they used to interact with a platform or website and report it each time they use the internet. This applies to everyone who registers as a sex offender, not just those who have been convicted of an internet-related crime. If they fail to declare their identification number on the internet, they could go to jail.
The expansive and ambiguous nature of these laws is important, especially when it means that people can be branded for life. Even strong advocates of sex offender registration laws should acknowledge the problem of confusing policies: They erode public trust, incarcerate the wrong people, waste government resources and leave the public vulnerable to truly dangerous people.
Before being arrested, Jason has worked in the IT field. When the court settled the conditions of his probation, Jason asked the court to grant him access to the computer and the internet so he could continue to work.
Court records show a disoriented judge and prosecutor feverishly confused about the technology and openly wondering whether to coin the word “Tick Tock” (the state spelling), whether texting or texting Should mobile-based versions be considered a different method of communication than internet-based instant messaging, and how things might be different if Jason just used a “stupid phone” — all in an effort to figure out if Jason should be allowed to use the Internet for work while on probation and, if so, what types of sites should be turned off. At one point, the prosecutor confusedly rummaged through a list of websites she had problems with Jason using, including Reddit and Engadget, stumbling across the names of popular social media platforms. and finally turned to other members of the court for additional comments to add to her list.
It’s reminiscent of coming home for Thanksgiving and helping your parents set up their smart TVs, mixed with a Kafkaesque nightmare about the highest stakes.
This is when the court finally agreed to give Jason access to the internet but banned social media accounts and web-based instant messaging. All of Jason’s devices will be monitored by RemoteCOMa third-party service that takes regular screenshots and shares them directly with his probation officer.
But then, in July 2021, Jason was charged with violating probation for accessing social media — for watching a live stream of a community prayer event. This development reflects how the Internet has changed in just the past few years. While Jason is not create any social networking account, he has unknowingly seen videos that appear in internet searches but are technically hosted on social networking sites (in this case, Facebook Live).
A screenshot was also submitted showing Jason using Google Voice, which has sparked a debate about whether that counts as “internet-based communication”. Questions kept arising. Are dating sites social media? Can he use LinkedIn for his business page?
Additionally, the terms of his probation forbid him from “deleting” anything from his computer. Jason regularly uses his Google Chrome browser in incognito mode to avoid internet tracking cookies, knowing that RemoteCOM continues to track all his internet activity and does not require access to browsing history his web. However, the prosecutor found this suspicious. Reading aloud from the RemoteCOM screenshot, the prosecutor read back to the judge the ominous-sounding issue ahead of the incognito browser homepage: “you can now browse privately”—meaning is the text itself captured by RemoteCOM. When Jason’s defense attorney objected, the judge replied that the text “speaks for itself.”
