Don't know a ton about class actions, but my immediate questions are,
1. What are you suing them for - what is your cause of action here, and
2. What are your damages?
I mean, is it negligence? They were hacked; this was a presumably criminal action that the company was a victim of.
Good points. I would imagine it likely would be negligence if you could somehow prove the company didn't have robust enough security measures. If it costs you your marriage, could damages be the expenses associated with a divorce? What about damage to one's reputation?
That's a really dumb move by whoever made that site. At least with Tor you have anonymity. Actually registering a website and posting CC info could get you in a lot of hot water.
Don't know a ton about class actions, but my immediate questions are,
1. What are you suing them for - what is your cause of action here, and
2. What are your damages?
I mean, is it negligence? They were hacked; this was a presumably criminal action that the company was a victim of. If it's breach of contract, don't you just get your money back and that's it?
Its a breach of privacy in the context of contract, negligence, and duties owed under statute. Its very complicated and depends on the jurisdiction, I wouldn't even speculate what the US laws say about privacy, but this is all bad for the website.
This is a business built upon claims of privacy. They're done. This is one time you can watch and enjoy while a business fails.
As to damages, who knows. So many different ways of approaching it. Refund? Damages to reputation? Damages for breach of privacy? Its just over for them.
Last edited by Kjesse; 08-19-2015 at 05:49 PM.
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^What duties are owed under statute? What statute? There might be one; I'm just not aware of it as I don't do anything privacy-based really.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rubecube
Good points. I would imagine it likely would be negligence if you could somehow prove the company didn't have robust enough security measures. If it costs you your marriage, could damages be the expenses associated with a divorce? What about damage to one's reputation?
1. Yes, I imagine you would make that argument. Then you'd end up with a bunch of disclosure that would show you what those security procedures were. I bet they're pretty robust though.
2. I think AM would have a pretty strong argument that expenses related to a divorce are too remote to be recoverable.
I guess there's a bunch of wacky arguments they could make about equitable damages or something, but basically you're suing for pain and trauma on the negligence side, and I guess just a failure of consideration (i.e. you didn't give me what I paid you for, so give me my money back) on the contract side.
__________________ "The great promise of the Internet was that more information would automatically yield better decisions. The great disappointment is that more information actually yields more possibilities to confirm what you already believed anyway." - Brian Eno
Maybe I'm being hypocritical, but a story about molesting girls probably should get out to the public. Extra-marital stuff? I don't know.
It would bother me if he hadn't been a board member of a group that was fighting against marriage equality because God said marriage is between a man and a woman. Obviously he ignored the part of the Bible where God condemned adultery.
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I contemplated making a fake account out of strict curiosity to "see if there was anyone I know". Then I thought of my wife discovering that account and having difficulty explaining it so I didn't. Thank god
I wonder how many people are using that excuse.
"Honey, I was just checking to see if anyone I knew was on there. I swear!"
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Maybe I'm being hypocritical, but a story about molesting girls probably should get out to the public. Extra-marital stuff? I don't know.
Nah, I think it's fitting when haughty, holier than though religious folk get exposed for being hypocrites. Serves them right for being two faced and judgemental. The only question is will guys like Huckabee continue to defend this scum. I think not because he broke one of the ten commandments. What a hilarious religion, aldutery = bad, touching little kids = Leave poor Josh Duggar alone!
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If you would be embarassed by those actions when right or wrong the truth came out you probably shouldn't have done those actions in the first place. Now that's sort of the moral stand I will make.
Legally, ya I have to expect they are going to be paying some money.
Duggar....tsk tsk. I won't get into slander other than to say I live near the area where they live (and play rec sports in the city/town they live) and know enough about this family to have had my fill.
Maybe I'm being hypocritical, but a story about molesting girls probably should get out to the public. Extra-marital stuff? I don't know.
I agree. While I find some schadenfreude at cheaters that get busted (especially ones stupid enough to use a website devoted to it), I think the other partner and the children if there are any, may be humiliated and distressed if the information is made public.
Could you imagine being a guy whose wife was on there and then having all your friends and acquaintances find out? That would feel terrible.
__________________
"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
Last edited by FlamesAddiction; 08-20-2015 at 10:42 AM.
I agree. While I find some schadenfreude at cheater that get busted (especially one stupid enough to use a website devoted to it), I think the other partner and the children if there are any, may be humiliated and distressed if the information is made public.
Could you imagine being a guy whose wife was on there and then having all your friends and acquaintances find out? That would feel terrible.
I thought this article did a pretty good job of summing up my thoughts on the matter.
But before you celebrate your comeuppance over less ethical friends and colleagues, consider this: The Ashley Madison leak is about a lot more than the public shaming of philanderers.
Above all, it’s about Internet privacy.
Within minutes of the alleged leak, people began combing the data for information and posting their findings. Journalists and security experts quickly noted that there were 15,000 .mil or .gov e-mail addresses among those used for the site.
Under military rules, philanderers can be punished by a year in confinement and a dishonorable discharge, which means losing their pension, Slate reported.
Computer security expert Graham Cluley quickly warned against such witch hunts on his blog.
“For one thing, being a member of a dating site, even a somewhat seedy one like Ashley Madison, is no evidence that you have cheated on your partner,” he wrote. “You might have joined the site years before when you were single and be shocked that they still have your details in their database, or you might have joined the site out of curiosity or for a laugh … never seriously planning to take things any further.”
You might be a journalist who joined to write about Ashley Madison, for example. Or, as some self-described Ashley Madison users have said on Reddit, you may be in an open marriage.
“But more importantly than all of that, if your e-mail address is in the Ashley Madison database it means nothing,” Cluley wrote. “The owner of that e-mail address may never have even visited the Ashley Madison site.”
Cluley also wrote recently about the real risk that a leak could lead to suicide.
“What the howling wolves doesn’t seem to understand is what they are doing is online bullying. The kind of bullying that clearly can cause such personal tragedies,” he wrote.
“‘If they are cheating, they deserve it,’ the wolves reply. While I totally disagree with that argument, let me add that their kids do not deserve to lose a parent. Their family doesn’t deserve to lose a loved one. And that also applies to friends, colleagues, neighbors and others. If you are found to have bullied somebody into suicide however … I believe you deserve jailtime for that.”
And then there is another concern: that although the leak itself appears to be a moral vendetta, it could lead to individual cases of blackmail as people comb through the information and spot co-workers, neighbors or acquaintances.
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I agree. While I find some schadenfreude at cheaters that get busted (especially ones stupid enough to use a website devoted to it), I think the other partner and the children if there are any, may be humiliated and distressed if the information is made public.
Could you imagine being a guy whose wife was on there and then having all your friends and acquaintances find out? That would feel terrible.
I think they would all find out eventually anyway, cheaters usually get caught given enough time.
I think there are some partners out there that are 'okay' with their partners indiscretions. By okay, I mean they won't leave their partner over it... maybe due to insecurity/religious background/financial reasons/other... I do feel bad for those people over this, but at the same time, those 'secrets' would probably get out too given enough time.
The one thing out of all this that is a positive is that at least Anonymous didn't just sell the data to the highest bidder. By dumping it they ensured there would be no blackmailing that would come out of this. Small consolation, but there was a much worse way this could have played out for many of these people.
