October 21, 2002

5:14 PM

In Australia, "Intrernet Stalking" could get you 10 years in jail,but here in the States, you'll probably get on a tv show or your own DVD.
posted by peachwood (11 comments total)

Ah peachwood some NSFW warnings would have helped.
posted by riffola at 5:17 PM on October 21, 2002

I hope none of the posters one those creepy Ellen Feiss worship sites are from Australia.
posted by Space Coyote at 5:36 PM on October 21, 2002

Perhaps it's because only in the US would a team of people go through the trouble of manufacturing a stalker as a means of selling a porn video. Check out the trailer for the "footage".

I smell a viral marketer.
posted by aladfar at 6:04 PM on October 21, 2002

Not to sound too skeptical, but the regarding the second link: doesn't the camera shot seem a little too clear? and doesn't the interior of the room seem a little 'humble' (most notably the Motel 6 print behind the coach) for a businessman whom shows his Japanese clients a good time? Just seems a bit. . .staged.
posted by four panels at 6:07 PM on October 21, 2002

It's good that the politicians of Australia get the idea. I just wish Canada and the United States could learn to work together. You don't realize how this can affect your life until you have to deal with it.

Currently my family doesn't put anything truly personal online because it would give too much information to an ex of my spouse. We live with unwanted faxes and telephone calls at work. When we start new jobs we have to explain why we screen our calls and day one includes giving security a photo of the stalker.

If you are dealing with cyberstalking read here and here.
posted by ?! at 6:43 PM on October 21, 2002

Dear whois, traceroute and dig,

Australia says I can't use you anymore because "tracing a person's steps through the internet" is illegal.

Crimes against stalking aren't enough and all the cool legislators are doing this whole cyber crime thing now, so I won't be doing anymore traffic or usage analysis. But don't worry, I'd rather I had no rights and submit to a grander institutional victimization then a single person ever be made to be victim by another. I think, old friends and network utilities, that the peoples voice has been heard. Intrusive and threaten behavior will not be tolerated by the individual as long as the government can do it so much better for us all.
posted by ex.pr.ni at 7:31 PM on October 21, 2002

From a press release on Yarnbird's website, which is the url linked in the email addresses:

Jilted and out for revenge, Hartley (Deborah Makahra) sets up a website to blackmail her ex–lover, Bill (Roy Werner), a high level political lobbyist. Through an intricate stalking scheme, she posts hidden video camera footage of Bill’s sexual escapades and illegal political dealings on the internet – for the entire world to see. But as Hartley’s campaign of terror comes to a head, her web hosting company goes bankrupt and all of her data, including her cyber hard drive and her personal journal, falls into the wrong hands.

The actors and the "data falling into the wrong hands" story twist proves this whole site is just a marketing scheme. Interesting one, though. I got me to look through the entire site.
posted by LeiaS at 9:12 PM on October 21, 2002

The 'I can still tell your wife' DVD is totally fake.ü
posted by disgruntled at 2:37 AM on October 22, 2002

"The 'I can still tell your wife' DVD is totally fake."

I too had thought this to be an elaborate (albeit, brilliant) hoax, but all you need do is read Yarnbird's site (from LeiaS's link) to see its no more than a non-linear form of entertainment.
posted by FilmMaker at 3:48 AM on October 22, 2002

This came up (on metafilter, I think) a while back - Bill Clinton lookalike in fake adultery film shocker...
posted by wibbler at 11:55 AM on October 22, 2002

ex.pr.ni: "tracing a person's steps through the internet" is the means. You must also have intent to cause harm or fear.

That means you can use tools to trace who posted that anti-throwrug spam through your server. You can also use it to trace me, because, well, you've heard I hook a mean rug and you want to learn my techniques. So you want to discover my email address to ask me to teach you.

However, if you are angry because I respond that you don't have the talent to sew a dishrag and use those programs to find me to stand outside my abode and sing bawdy songs designed to invoke fear...well, you're a stalker.

There is additional information regarding stalking laws and history in Australia.

A stalker tracked my spouse and me using the programs you mentioned. We learned how to mask and evade them when possible. He also used Google, a telephone operator, and the kindness of strangers. All we could do there was educate people to the dangers of making some information easily accessible.

We're more careful now than we would have been had this not happened. We learned about some of the tools you mentioned. But we don't want the tools banned. After all, I know knitting needles can kill, but I don't want them outlawed. We appreciate laws though that speak to the criminal intent of using those tools.

Remember though what the laws are designed to forestall: "Given findings that 80 per cent of women who report being stalked by an intimate or a former intimate also report being physically assaulted (National Institute of Justice 1997, p. 10), the relevance of this area can not be underestimated." from the paper cited above
posted by ?! at 8:08 PM on October 22, 2002