Obstruction of Justice or Harbinger of Transparency?

Warn Criminals Before Police Arrive?

Could a mobile phone app be illegal if it warned users of police activity like a speed trap or a drug bust? "Obstruction of Justice" is the crime of intentionally doing something to impede or hamper a law enforcement activity or an official investigation.

South African legal authorities are taking legal action against a Twitter tweeter who warns motorists about speed traps: http://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/09/19/0110246/Criminal-Charges-Against-Speed-Trap-Tweeter

Swiss authorities have outlawed certain GPS devices that alert drivers of speed traps. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070212/075138.shtml

The trend is for technology to shed more light and scrutiny on all police activities. Police must learn how to operate in a transparent world. http://hack-igations.blogspot.com/2007/12/people-in-authority-sometimes-abuse.html

This mobile device app that tells motorists about upcoming road conditions:

"traffic information based on the wisdom of the crowd"
- Free GPS Navigation with Turn by Turn - Waze |

Update: For more on mobile apps that might contribute to the crime of "obstruction of justice," seehttp://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/05/25/6704362-police-on-radio-scanner-apps-thats-not-a-10-4

--Benjamin Wright

About

Benjamin Wright is an attorney in private practice. He teaches the Law of Data Security and Investigations for the SANS Institute. He is author of The Law of Electronic Commerce (published by Wolters Kluwer) and Business Law and Computer Security (published by SANS). He helps others navigate the law of data compliance, including privacy, e-commerce, e-discovery, cloud contracts, records management and cyber investigations.

He is spotlighted in the book The Devil Inside the Beltway for his uncommonly insightful advice to LabMD in its now famous information security law dispute.

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Obstruction of Justice or Harbinger of Transparency?

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