State Of Alaska Threatens CrackHo After Confusing Redirect With Hijack

[LSW]

Why am I not surprised?

 

 

State Of Alaska Threatens CrackHo After Confusing Redirect With Hijacking...

from the why-lawyers-should-have-some-tech-knowlege dept

It's always bad news when the technically illiterate start filing lawsuits over technology issues. A few folks have sent in the news that the state of Alaska, under Sarah Palin's governorship, has (we're not making this up) sent a cease and desist letter to the website CrackHo.com supposedly for hijacking a page from the state's website and using the official seal of Alaska without permission -- which the state claims violates both state laws (fines up to $500 or six months in prison) and federal copyright laws.

 

So what did the site CrackHo.com do to deserve this? Well, it simply redirected anyone who went to Crackho.com to Sarah Palin's website on the state webpage. Yes. A simple redirect. And the state claims that this is hijacking the website, a misuse of the seal of the state and a violation of federal copyright laws.

 

I mean... I'm sure the lawyers working for the state of Alaska have some free time on their hands right now... but... seriously? Did no one bother to actually investigate what they were threatening?- techdirt.com

[falkencreative]

Ouch. Ripping the site and hosting it is one thing... But simply redirecting to it? huh.

[dms]

Even though I'm not a fan of Palin, I understand her not wanting this redirect. So, as soon as they figure out this is not Hijacking - look for a new law soon forbidding Redirects without permission. This could get interesting.