I didn't see this posted anywhere, and I can't use the shiny search bar, so....
I saw this over at Penny Arcade, so some of you guys have probably already seen it, but Blizzard helped catch a drug dealer.
Basically, the guy had fled to Canada but continued to play WoW. The authorities chasing after him found out he played WoW, then subpoenaed Blizzard for his information. They complied and gave the authorities all of his information, from it IP address down to the server he played on.
Needless to say, it was easy to find out where he was and have the Canadians arrest and deport him.
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Blizz Helps Catch a Drug DealerFollow
idiggory, King of Bards wrote:
I have a racist ****.
Steam: TuxedoFish
battle.net: Fishy #1649
GW2: Fishy.4129
Umm...forgive my cynicism, but...yay?
Blizzard was subpoenaed. What are they going to do? Say no? That would have been one hell of a press release..."Blizzard refuses to assist authorities in apprehending a suspected drug dealer."
Ya, not like they had much choice in the matter.
Blizzard was subpoenaed. What are they going to do? Say no? That would have been one hell of a press release..."Blizzard refuses to assist authorities in apprehending a suspected drug dealer."
Ya, not like they had much choice in the matter.
AureliusSir the Irrelevant wrote:
Umm...forgive my cynicism, but...yay?
Blizzard was subpoenaed. What are they going to do? Say no? That would have been one hell of a press release..."Blizzard refuses to assist authorities in apprehending a suspected drug dealer."
Ya, not like they had much choice in the matter.
Blizzard was subpoenaed. What are they going to do? Say no? That would have been one hell of a press release..."Blizzard refuses to assist authorities in apprehending a suspected drug dealer."
Ya, not like they had much choice in the matter.
Well, they called it a subpoena in the article, but it wasn't so much a "subpoena" as a politely worded letter asking for their assistance.
And I was just posting it because it caught my interest, not because I was claiming Blizzard was a paragon of virtuous companies and everyone should follow their example by cooperating with authorities (well, they should, but that's neither here nor there).
idiggory, King of Bards wrote:
I have a racist ****.
Steam: TuxedoFish
battle.net: Fishy #1649
GW2: Fishy.4129
It's standard police operating procedure to simply ask nicely for the information they want, only obtaining a subpoena if necessary. Blizzard knew that if they didn't provide the information that the police would get a subpoena with no problem and they would be forced to provide it anyway.
Why not just save everyone some time and just give it to them?
The police catch a bad guy (hopefully an actual bad drug dealer, not some kid dealing pot) and blizz looks like a law abiding cooperative company.
Why not just save everyone some time and just give it to them?
The police catch a bad guy (hopefully an actual bad drug dealer, not some kid dealing pot) and blizz looks like a law abiding cooperative company.
It's hardly different than telephone company cooperating with the police. It's no brainer that they cooperated. It's more interesting that cops started to take advantage of new technologies and habits of people and not only typical approach.
What I found hilarious was that the cop used Google Earth to figure out where the dealer lived.
idiggory, King of Bards wrote:
I have a racist ****.
Steam: TuxedoFish
battle.net: Fishy #1649
GW2: Fishy.4129
himdraug wrote:
It's hardly different than telephone company cooperating with the police. It's no brainer that they cooperated. It's more interesting that cops started to take advantage of new technologies and habits of people and not only typical approach.
Well.. in the article, the guy is quoted as saying:
OP's Link wrote:
“They don’t have to respond to us, and I was under the assumption that they wouldn’t,†said Roberson. “It had been three or four months since I had sent the subpoena. I just put it in the back of my mind and went on to do other things. Then I finally got a response from them. They sent me a package of information. They were very cooperative. It was nice that they were that willing to provide information.â€
Blizzard did more than cooperate. It gave Roberson everything he needed to track down Hightower, including his IP address, his account information and history, his billing address, and even his online screen name and preferred server. From there it was a simple matter to zero in on the suspect’s location.
Blizzard did more than cooperate. It gave Roberson everything he needed to track down Hightower, including his IP address, his account information and history, his billing address, and even his online screen name and preferred server. From there it was a simple matter to zero in on the suspect’s location.
According to the article, anyways.
Blizz has a pretty good record of cooperating with Law Enforcement when situations arise, iirc.
Slightly off-topic: If an officer asks permission to search you/your house/your vehicle, you have the right to say no. However, in many places, saying no is considered enough reason to hold you until they get a warrant, and enough reason for a judge to sign the warrant.
So when your options are "yes" or "We're going to make your live miserable, and then yes", you tend to go with yes.
That said, even if there wasn't a subpoena, it's not like they want bad PR by saying no.
So when your options are "yes" or "We're going to make your live miserable, and then yes", you tend to go with yes.
That said, even if there wasn't a subpoena, it's not like they want bad PR by saying no.
Saying no to a unlawful warrantless search is NOT probable cause for search. The Fourth Amendment gives you the right to refuse illegal search and seizure.
Benderbrau wrote:
Saying no to a unlawful warrantless search is NOT probable cause for search. The Fourth Amendment gives you the right to refuse illegal search and seizure.
.......assuming you're in the USA.
Not all countries are like that.
Zariamnk wrote:
Benderbrau wrote:
Saying no to a unlawful warrantless search is NOT probable cause for search. The Fourth Amendment gives you the right to refuse illegal search and seizure.
.......assuming you're in the USA.
Not all countries are like that.
And this particular topic is about which country? While I'm all for remembering different rules in different countries, the original post was about a US situation (involving Canada, but as far as legal systems go, it's US), so it makes sense that subsequent replies would tend towards the legal system of that country. I think the context makes it clear that we're talking about US legal systems rather than every legal system on the planet.
The most shameful part of it all is the dealer's spec. I mean, seriously, the biggest benefit is that there's one less bad-spec pugger out there. yay.
Ialaman wrote:
The most shameful part of it all is the dealer's spec. I mean, seriously, the biggest benefit is that there's one less bad-spec pugger out there. yay.
Trylofer wrote:
Must have forgot rule #2. >.>
You don't talk about Fight Club?
himdraug wrote:
Trylofer wrote:
Must have forgot rule #2. >.>
You don't talk about Fight Club?
Don't get high on your own supply.
Quote:
The most shameful part of it all is the dealer's spec. I mean, seriously, the biggest benefit is that there's one less bad-spec pugger out there. yay.
and no Minor Glyphs....1/2/68 LMAO priceless :)
Glyph of Lightning bolt, Glyph of Elemental Mastery (which he DOESN'T EVEN HAVE)....
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