Chicago Criminal Lawyer Blog
The highest courts in the USA have considered this question and apparently found that to some extent the answer is no. Specifically, the higher courts objected to some of the provisions as they relate to identity theft and the constitutional rights of defendants. The Illinois Supreme Court consequently overturned a key provision of the state identity theft statute. The key contention was that this provision was effectively criminalizing conduct that would otherwise not be considered to be criminal. The case in question involved a Google search in where there was no evidence of criminal intent. The internet has opened up so many opportunities but also a series of legal nightmares for the profession, particularly with regards to the world of social media, which seems to require laws unto itself. Consequently, there is a genuine fear about the escalating practice of identity theft. The state legislators felt that they had to act even at the expense of civil liberties.
Overkill in Regulating Internet Activity
As is often the case in legal cases, the cure can be as painful as the disease. The innocent end up suffering at the hands of lawmakers who are not as comfortable with new media as they ought to be. The temptation is to ban everything or alternatively to give room for suing over nothing. In the People v Madrigal, No 110194, 2011 WL 1074427 (Ill Sup Ct), the defendant successfully convinced the Illinois Supreme court that the law had become an unfair burden. Specifically, section 16G-15(a) (7) of the Identity Theft Law (720 ILCS 5/16G–1 et seq.) indicated that a criminal offense occurs if a person uses the identity of another in order to gain access to information online without the permission of the person whose identity is being used. The act is clear enough when it comes to criminal activity that involves overstepping identity verification procedures through impersonation in order to commit a crime. However the position is less clear if no criminal purpose is intended.
